representative rick allen argha said tuesday he would quarantine after learning he had been infected with coronavirus making him the 12th member of congress to test positive for the virus in less than two weeks as capitol hill grapples with a steep jump in infections while lawmakers quarrel over safety precautions the uptick in congressional coronavirus comes in the midst of tension on the floors of both chambers over social distancing measures and mask wearing lawmakers have argued over masking and even blame their colleagues for spreading the virus to other congressmen the coronavirus surge on capitol hill isn't unique coronavirus infections are ramping up in most u.s states and on tuesday johns hopkins university counted more than 12.5 million confirmed cases in the country since the beginning of the pandemic