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Florida Lawmakers In Big Bend Region Test Positive For COVID-19

The State of Florida

State Sen. Loranne Ausley, D-Tallahassee, is the latest Florida lawmaker to test positive for the coronavirus since lawmakers began meeting two weeks ago.

Ausley wrote in a Facebook post that she's only experiencing mild symptoms after testing positive for COVID-19 on Monday. She says she'll continue to self-isolate and work from home until she’s cleared to return to the state Senate for in-person meetings.

Republican State Rep. Jason Shoaf of Port Saint Joe announced on Facebook over the weekend that he had also tested positive for COVID-19.

Shoaf says he will attend committee meetings virtually while in quarantine.

Both Shoaf and Ausley had attended in-person state legislative delegation meetings in their districts days before testing positive for the virus.

State lawmakers returned to the Capitol for in-person committee meetings during the week of Jan. 11. The upcoming legislative session begins on March 2, when lawmakers will begin voting on bills.

Copyright 2021 WFSU

Valerie Crowder is a freelance reporter based in Panama City, Florida. Before moving to Florida, she covered politics and education for Public Radio East in New Bern, North Carolina. While at PRE, she was also a fill-in host during All Things Considered. She got her start in public radio at WAER-FM in Syracuse, New York, where she was a part-time reporter, assistant producer and host. She has a B.A. in newspaper online journalism and political science from Syracuse University. When she’s not reporting the news, she enjoys reading classic fiction and thrillers, hiking with members of the Florida Trail Association and doing yoga.