Republican Lawmaker Contracts COVID — Then Deletes Post Criticizing Pandemic Precaution "If millions of Americans can go back to work, so can Members of Congress," Rep. Joe Wilson wrote on

Facebook, before testing positive for the novel coronavirus

By Sean Neumann Sean Neumann Sean Neumann is a reporter at PEOPLE. He has been working at PEOPLE since 2019. His work has previously appeared in Rolling Stone, The New York Times, ESPN, and

more.People Editorial GuidelinesPublished on December 18, 2020 02:01PM EST Rep. Joe Wilson.Credit : Sean Rayford/Getty A congressman from South Carolina deleted a Facebook post mocking

The 73-year-old Republican tested positive for the virus Wednesday, soon after he criticized his colleagues in a now-deleted social media and then spoke on the floor of the House of

Representatives.

In his deleted Facebook post earlier Wednesday, according to an archived copy shared by The Huffington Post, Wilson accused Democratic colleagues of “avoiding their constitutional duty by

voting by proxy.”

The House announced new rules in May allowing lawmakers to vote remotely during the pandemic, as COVID-19 cases began to increase in Congress.

“If millions of Americans can go back to work, so can Members of Congress,” Wilson wrote in his post.

He wore a mask during his House floor speech and it’s unclear whether he came in close contact with other lawmakers.

Wilson and six other representatives are in quarantine after testing positive for the virus, according to NPR.

At least 21 members of Congress — 18 in the House and three in the Senate — have tested positive since November, NPR reports. In all, 38 members of the House and eight members of the Senate

have tested positive this year.

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