Freshman Miami congresswoman-elect to miss D.C. swearing-in ceremony due to COVID-19

Miami Congresswoman-elect María Elvira Salazar will be unable to attend a Sunday ceremony in Washington to swear in members of the new Congress after learning she has COVID-19 during an emergency trip to the hospital, her office announced Thursday morning.

Salazar, a Republican who last month defeated Democratic U.S. Rep. Donna Shalala in perhaps the most surprising congressional upset in the country, discovered she had contracted the coronavirus after she was admitted to Doctors Hospital with a heart arrhythmia on Dec. 23, according to a press release issued Thursday.

Salazar was “admitted overnight,” treated over the course of 24 hours, and then released, according to her office. Salazar says she is quarantining at home for at least 14 days on the advice of doctors, which will force her to miss a Jan. 3 ceremony in Washington to swear in members of the 117th Congress.

“I am incredibly thankful to the tireless front-line medical workers in our community, who help so many people combating the COVID-19 pandemic,” Salazar, 59, said in a statement. “I am in quarantine at home and getting better each day. I look forward to hitting the ground running for my community, once it is medically permissible.”

Read more: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article248194000.html