SALEM, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Congressman Seth Moulton announced Wednesday afternoon that he is following his doctors' orders to stay home and self isolate after showing symptoms of coronavirus.
"On Thursday, I began feeling unwell with a low-grade fever and a concerning tightness in my chest, to a degree I’ve never felt before, that lasted several days," Rep. Moulton wrote in a Facebook post. "I have also had a sore throat, though no serious cough, along with body aches and unusual fatigue."
Moulton said his wife is showing similar symptoms, and he ordered his teams in Salem and Washington, D.C., with the exception of two essential members, to work from home and self-isolate.
He contacted the Department of Veterans Affairs and the House of Representatives' Attending Physician, and was told to self-quarantine until seven days after his symptoms start to improve, and/or when he has not had a fever for 72 hours.
"Unless my symptoms take a turn for the worse, that would be this Saturday," he wrote.
Moulton and his wife could not get tested, but are self-isolating "out of an abundance of caution."
"As the House doctor explained, I am “symptomatic,” but because the symptoms are minor and a test would not change my treatment protocol, my wife and I don’t qualify for tests," Moulton wrote.
The congressman said he's been steadily improving, and even went for a properly socially-distanced run Tuesday.
He said he decided to make the state of his personal health public because he may miss important votes in Washington as a result of his self-isolation, and assured constituents he'd "continue fighting for health care workers who need PPE, for the unemployed who still need to put food on the table, for the sick who need respirators and access to care, and for small businesses who are the lifeblood of our economy."
Moulton said he hopes others with mild symptoms will also self-quarantine and follow the orders of medical professionals and their doctors.
"People with symptoms should be tested, and the fact that tests are not available for Liz and me and far too many other Americans, a month after I wrote to the Vice President demanding more widespread testing, is a major failure of the Administration that I will continue fighting to fix," he wrote. "We will get through this pandemic by working together from home, and we’ll be a stronger country on the other side."
Read Moulton's full note below.
WBZ NewsRadio's Karyn Regal (@Karynregal) reports
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