COLUMBUS – The Ohio House of Representatives reinstated work-from-home status Thursday after a legislative aide tested positive this week for COVID-19 and minority Democrats are angry that they were not informed about the decision earlier.
House Speaker Larry Householder told his colleagues to not report to the Riffe Center for work until further notice.
The aide, assigned to a House Republican, was sent home earlier this week along with others who were in physical contact with that person. It remains unclear how many other employees have been affected.
Minority Democrats are angry that they received no formal notification or additional details and that the House’s Chief Administrative Officer is overseeing the contact tracing instead of Columbus or Franklin County health officials.
“The Speaker of the House has an obligation during this pandemic to provide accurate information to members and staff. People deserve to know what risks are associated with reporting to work each day and contact tracing should never be a partisan process,” Minority Leader Emilia Strong Sykes (D-Akron) said in a statement.
She says the suspected outbreak was brought to light by Democratic representatives and staff.