Legislative leaders canceled Thursday's Pennsylvania House of Representatives session due to one of its members testing positive for COVID-19.

Rep. Paul Schemel, R-90th, issued a statement Thursday about his positive result. He said he started feeling sick Wednesday and tested positive Thursday.

The House's chief clerk, David Reddecliff, said contact tracing has begun, but it was too soon to say if others need to quarantine.

Marci Mustello, R-11th, was in Harrisburg when the session was canceled.

“Around 10:30 a.m., we were notified that session would be delayed,” Mustello said. “We had a caucus meeting around 11:15 a.m., and we were told one of our members had tested positive for COVID.”

Mustello commended House leaders for making the call. She said the leadership on both sides of the aisle have a responsibility to keep people safe.

“Obviously, members and leadership take this very seriously,” Mustello said.

In May, Rep. Andrew Lewis, R-105th, waited one week before disclosing his diagnosis, which prompted objection from Democrats. Lewis has since recovered from his illness.

The workload likely will be transferred to the next House session on Oct. 19. However, House leaders could call back representatives for a special session if the need arises.

Mustello said she was glad to get to the bills they worked on Wednesday because they included some on topics of education. She said there were some bills related to elections that were slated to be discussed Thursday. She said that will likely be a priority next session.

“That's the holding pattern we're in right now,” Mustello said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.