April 28, 2020 / By Rebecca Shabad, Haley Talbot, Alex Moe and Kasie Hunt
WASHINGTON — A day after announcing that the House would reconvene in Washington next week, House Democrats reversed course and announced Tuesday that lawmakers will not be returning to the Capitol after all because of the coronavirus threat.
“We made a judgement that we will not come back next week,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said in a phone call with reporters. 
Hoyer said he spoke with the House physician late Monday about the decision. The majority leader cited a rising number of coronavirus cases in the Washington metropolitan area.
“We will not come back next week, but we hope to come back very soon to consider CARES 2 legislation,” Hoyer said, referring to the next round of major coronavirus relief legislation, which would mirror the $2 trillion package signed into law in late March.
Asked about the decision, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said during a separate press call, “We had no choice. If the Capitol physician recommends that we not come back, then we have to take that guidance in the interest of the safety of the people who work here.”