Voting resumes in Statehouse with COVID outbreak among legislators

Credit: FILE

Credit: FILE

The Ohio Legislature is scheduled to meet today in what is expected to be a lengthy session of year-end voting, and concerns are being raised about a continued outbreak of COVID infections among the members.

State Rep. Jon Cross, R-Kenton, said he’ll miss session Thursday since he has COVID-19 symptoms and is awaiting test results. “I would assume that I have it. My spouse has tested positive,” he said.

Cross said his family of four is isolating at home.

At least five members of the House Finance Committee have tested positive. Two of them, Democrats John Rogers and John Patterson, are hospitalized.

The 99-member House and 33-member Senate is scheduled to meet today in marathon sessions as the General Assembly’s two-year session comes to a close.

Dozens of Republican lawmakers have not worn masks or abided by social distancing guidelines while at the Statehouse in recent months.

Guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say people exposed to someone who has tested positive should self-quarantine for seven to 10 days; those who have tested positive should self-isolate and resume contact with others only after 10 days, symptoms resolve without the aid of fever reducers and other symptoms are improving.

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