Utah Rep. Ben McAdams marks one week hospitalized with coronavirus

Rep. Ben McAdams, D-Utah, holds interview in his new office on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019. | For the Deseret News

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Rep. Ben McAdams, who tested positive for coronavirus on March 18 and was admitted to a hospital two days later, remained hospitalized Friday and continues to receive oxygen treatments for shortness of breath.

He has been hospitalized for a week since Friday, March 20.

A news release issued by McAdams’ office Friday praising the passage by the U.S. House of a $2 trillion relief package to help Americans deal with the COVID-19 pandemic stated he will “stay until doctors release him to go home.”

McAdams’ wife, Julie, said Friday “he’s where he needs to be” right now. She said she and their four children have stayed healthy and try to talk with McAdams “three or four times” or more every day.

“He had a couple pretty bad days midweek where he didn’t have the energy to have a conversation, so we took turns talking to him and telling him how we’re doing,” she said in an interview with KSL Newsradio’s Lee Lonsberry. “Yesterday was a better day and so it was nice to hear his spirits a little bit up and a little bit more energy. Unfortunately, his fever came back in the evening so they’re going to continue to keep him.”

His symptoms started the evening of March 15 while he was home from Washington, D.C., McAdams said in an earlier statement, describing them as mild and cold-like. He isolated himself at home after talking to his doctor the following day and his condition worsened.

“My symptoms got worse and I developed a fever, a dry cough and labored breathing and I remained self-quarantined. On Tuesday, my doctor instructed me to get tested for COVID-19 and following his referral, I went to the local testing clinic for the test. Today I learned that I tested positive,” McAdams said on March 18.

He was hospitalized on the evening of March 20.

Utah’s 4th Congressional District representative was one of the first members of Congress to test positive for the deadly virus, following Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Florida. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Rep. Joe Cunningham, D-S.C., have also tested positive.

Both of Utah’s senators, Mitt Romney and Mike Lee, left Washington at the beginning of the week to self-quarantine because of their contact with Paul.

from Deseret News https://ift.tt/3atuFig