Assembly Delays Session Indefinitely After COVID-19 Outbreak

A coronavirus outbreak in the California Legislature has indefinitely delayed the state Assembly's return to work from a scheduled summer recess, highlighting the rapid spread of the virus in a state that has imposed new restrictions on bars and restaurants following a surge of cases and hospitalizations.

Speaker Anthony Rendon's office confirmed five people who work in the state Assembly have tested positive for the coronavirus. That includes Assemblywoman Autumn Burke, a Democrat from Inglewood, who is believed to have been infected while on the Assembly floor last month when lawmakers returned to the state Capitol in Sacramento to approve a $202.1 billion state budget.

"The Assembly will remain in recess until further notice," Rendon said. "We have taken this decision, as we did in March, to protect members, staff and the public from exposure, and it comes in light of recent news of positive coronavirus tests in the Capitol."

Many state legislatures shut down earlier this year as the pandemic took hold of the U.S., including California, which missed nearly two months of work in its first unscheduled recess in 158 years. But many legislatures eventually returned to work with restrictions in place to limit the spread of the virus.

In California, those restrictions include mandatory masks for lawmakers on the floor, plus physical distancing in the chamber. Burke said both she and the person who exposed her to the virus were wearing masks.

"Currently, my daughter and I have no symptoms, but will be remaining in quarantine until released by a doctor," Burke wrote in a message posted to her Twitter account.

- The Associated Press