John Lewis to lie in state at the Capitol as part of five days of mourning for civil rights icon - as a Robert E. Lee high school is renamed for him

The late Representative John Lewis will lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda Monday and Tuesday as his funeral arrangements were delayed for more than a week in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who worked with Lewis in Congress for more than three decades, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell released a joint statement announcing the plans for honoring the late congressman on Thursday night. 

Also in honor of the late congressman and civil rights hero, a high school in Fairfax County, Virginia, a suburb of Washington D.C., will rename the school after Lewis.

The Robert E. Lee High School announced Thursday that the board voted in favor of the move to rename the school following controversy over its Confederate-linked name.

Arrangements for Lewis' funeral were also hindered to avoid conflicting with fellow civil rights icon Reverend C.T. Vivian's burial.

Lewis died at 80-years-old on July 17, several months after he was diagnosed with late-stage pancreatic cancer – and his friend, Vivian, died the same day, just two weeks before his 96th birthday from 'natural causes.'

Lewis and Vivian both marched with Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s and had a prominent involvement in the Civil Rights Movement – both were arrested for their efforts.

The congressman represented Georgia in the United States House of Representatives for 33 years. 

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Plans were announced Thursday night by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that people would honor the congressman in the Capitol Rotunda by invitation-only and then the casket would be moved outdoors to the East Front Steps of the Capitol for a public socially-distanced viewing

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Lewis' funeral plans were delayed in part due to complications and concerns over the coronavirus pandemic and also to avoid conflicting with the burial of his friend and fellow civil rights icon, Reverend C.T. Vivian – who died the same day as Lewis at the age of 95 from 'natural causes'

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At the same time, Robert E. Lee High School in Fairfax County, Virginia – a suburb of Washington D.C. – announced Thursday it is renaming the school after Lewis amid controversy over the old name's Confederacy links

An invitation-only arrival ceremony for Lewis' casket at the Capitol will be held on Monday afternoon and will be followed by a public viewing Monday evening and all day Tuesday.

Due to concerns over the coronavirus, the public viewing will be held outdoors on the East Front Steps of the Capitol and social distancing will be strictly enforced, Pelosi and McConnell's statement instructs.

Following lying in State, his body will be processed through Washington D.C. so 'members of the public will also be able to pay their respects in a socially-distant manner.'

'The family requests that members of the public do not travel to Washington, D.C. from across the country to pay their respects at the U.S. Capitol given the COVD-19 pandemic,' the statement read. 'Virtual tributes may be posted online using the hashtags #BelovedCommunity or #HumanDignity.'

Other political icons have lied in state recently, including former President George H.W. Bush in December 2018 and Senator John McCain, who died from brain cancer in August 2018 while still representing Arizona in the Senate.

As the Democrat-controlled House awaited plans for Lewis’ funeral, Pelosi held a moment of silence in remembrance of the lawmaker on the House floor Monday, which was led with remarks from two members of the Georgia delegation.