D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Thursday morning she has tested positive for COVID-19.
The positive test comes amid a “small uptick” in COVID-19 cases in the District over the past few weeks, health officials said, although there are no plans to restore a Districtwide indoor mask mandate.
In a tweet, the mayor said she had been experiencing “allergy symptoms” and took an at-home test Wednesday — then, a PCR test confirmed the positive result.
Friends — Yesterday, I tested positive for COVID. After experiencing allergy symptoms this week, I took an at-home test yesterday and a PCR test confirmed the positive result.
— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) April 7, 2022
Bowser tweeted that her household is still negative for the virus and she’ll work from home, following isolation protocols.
Bowser is one of several prominent figures in the nation’s capital have tested positive in recent days, including Attorney General Merrick Garland, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and several members of the U.S. House. Several of those who have tested positive attended the swanky Gridiron Club dinner last weekend.
DC Health Director Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt said the increase in cases involving members of the D.C. elite “do not suggest that we’re experiencing a more severe illness for the broader population.”
Following several weeks of declining COVID-19 cases, however, health officials are monitoring “a small uptick in the last two weeks,” Nesbitt said during an online briefing with reporters Thursday afternoon.
Roughly 61% of COVID-19 cases in the District are the BA. 2 subvariant, Nesbitt said, which is also the dominant strain throughout the U.S. The subvariant is believed to be more infectious than the omicron strain, although it does not appear to result in more serious illnesses.
Nesbitt defended the District’s decision to end daily reporting of raw COVID-19 data, such as the number of total COVID cases and hospitalizations. Instead, the District now reports more limited data — such as the case rate per 100,000 residents and new hospital admissions rate — once a week.
“At this phase in our pandemic, the pace at which we are making policy decisions and the pace at which the public needs information in order to make decisions about what’s best for them in their household suggests that it’s appropriate for us to report on a weekly basis,” Nesbitt said.
Those figures show that, even with the recent uptick in cases, the level of community spread remains low.
“Our community levels are low and still substantially below the threshold for when we would potentially shift into a medium posture,” she said. “We are not imminently making plans to recommend or require indoor masking.”
Amid the uptick, there has been a 37% increase in the citywide COVID testing, Nesbitt said.
Following the recent federal authorization of a fourth booster dose for those 50 and older, the District has seen an increase in booster doses administered, Nesbitt said, but there are still many residents who are eligible for their initial booster doses and haven’t gotten jabbed yet.
“Unfortunately, we have a great number of residents in the District of Columbia who are still eligible for a booster after receiving their primary series … I want to be very clear to those individuals that your best protection comes from having a booster after your primary series. So I really encourage them to go out and get boosted,” Nesbitt said.
Bowser’s older sister, Mercia Bowser, died from complications linked to COVID-19 a little over a year ago.
The Associated Press contributed to this report,
