A Republican elected representative of the United States Congress, Ron Wright, has died from Covid-19, his team announced Monday, February 8, becoming the first member sitting on Capitol Hill to succumb to the virus.
The 67-year-old Texas elected representative died on Sunday.
“During the previous two weeks, Ron and
(his wife, editor's note)
had been hospitalized”
in Dallas
“after being contaminated by Covid-19,”
his spokespersons said in a statement.
The Texan had been treated for cancer
"in recent years"
, they say.
Read also: Covid-19: in the United States, the death toll exceeds that of soldiers killed in World War II
President Joe Biden, who made the fight against the pandemic the central axis at the start of his mandate, lamented the death of this
"fighter who courageously fought both against cancer and Covid-19"
.
The United States
"continue to work tirelessly every day to overcome
(these diseases, editor's note)
in memory of all those we have lost"
, added in a statement the Democrat, whose eldest son Beau Biden had been carried away by a brain cancer in 2015.
On January 21, Ron Wright announced that he had tested positive for the coronavirus
"after having been in contact with an individual having the virus last week"
.
"I feel mild symptoms but in general I am fine and I will continue to work
(...)
from home this week,"
he added in a statement, calling for compliance with the precautionary instructions given by the authorities US health facilities to fight the spread of the virus.
Read also: Covid-19: in the United States, the vaccination campaign is accelerating
Ron Wright thus becomes the first of 535 elected officials sitting in Congress (435 in the House and 100 in the Senate) to succumb to the disease.
A parliamentarian elected to the House in November, Luke Letlow, died of Covid-19 in December, before taking office in early January.
Elected in Louisiana, he was 41 years old.
The United States is the most bereaved country in the world by the pandemic, with more than 460,000 dead.
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