Rep. Ron Wright (R-Tx.), is the first sitting member of Congress to pass away as a direct result of Covi-19.
The congressman had been battling cancer and was admitted to a Dallas hospital when he contracted Covid-19. He had undergone treatment for lung cancer. At least 71 representatives and senators have been diagnosed with COVID-19, according to GovTrack.er after he was diagnosed in 2018.
Wright’s final vote was against impeaching former President Donald Trump on a charge of provoking the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, according to the House clerk. He also voted in support of objections to counting Pennsylvania and Arizona’s electoral votes last month. Reports CNBC.
A special election for Wright’s successor will be held in Texas’ 6th District.
Another Republican member Luke Letlow, a Louisiana Republican elected to the House in November, died a month later before he took office from Covid-19 complications.
COVID-19 in Congress
Govtrack tracks the impact of COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, on the operations of Congress.
In all, 126 representatives and senators have either isolated because of having COVID-19, self-quarantined after exposure, or took other action or no action after exposure – some multiple times.
Of those, 71 representatives and senators have been diagnosed with COVID-19 either through testing or symptoms (some were asymptomatic), but some additional legislators may have had asymptomatic COVID-19 before testing was widely available. Source: Govtrack.us
