Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is one in every of two members of Congress to announce Sunday night time that he’s putting himself into voluntary self-quarantine after he interacted briefly with an individual who’s contaminated by the novel coronavirus on the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland final month.
Cruz stated the “interaction consisted of a brief conversation and a handshake” and that he’s “not experiencing any symptoms.”
“Nevertheless, out of an abundance of caution … I have decided to remain at my home in Texas this week, until a full 14 days have passed since the CPAC interaction,” Cruz stated in a press release shared on Twitter.
The American Conservative Union, which organized the CPAC occasion, introduced in a press release on Saturday {that a} CPAC attendee had examined optimistic for COVID-19. While the exposure occurred earlier than the convention, the particular person nonetheless attended the occasion and is now within the care of medical professionals in New Jersey.
Hours after Cruz’ announcement, Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) introduced on Twitter that he and three members of his employees will even be self-quarantining after coming in touch with the identical attendee on the convention.
“I was with this individual for an extended period of time, and we shook hands several times,” Gosar stated. “We are all asymptomatic and feel great. But we are being proactive and cautious.”
CPAC, which in earlier years has drawn upwards of 19,000 attendees, had audio system that included President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, then performing White House Chief of Staff and Director of the Office of Management and Budget Mick Mulvaney.
A spokeswoman for Sen. Mike Lee, who participated in a Wednesday panel at CPAC, informed ABC News that “Sen. Lee was contacted by CPAC and informed he did not come into contact with the attendee who eventually tested positive for Covid19.”
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, who additionally attended the Wednesday session, has not but been contacted, per a supply accustomed to the matter.
To date, the virus itself has killed 22 folks and contaminated no less than 515 within the United States. Worldwide, there are nearly 110,000 instances with greater than 3,800 deaths.
Last week, members of Congress handed an $8.Three billion bipartisan invoice to comprise the virus’ unfold by way of funding for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in addition to state and native well being departments.
While Cruz stated in his assertion that he’s “fine and healthy,” no less than two members of Congress have died from a viral an infection within the final twenty years. Rep. Patsy Takemoto Mink, who in 1990 grew to become the primary Asian American lady elected to Congress, died in September 2002 of viral pneumonia. Despite her passing, her title remained on the poll that November the place she was reelected by a large margin.
Sen. Frank Lautenberg died in 2017, additionally of viral pneumonia. At the time of his demise, the 89-year-old was the oldest member of the Senate,
The District of Columbia reported its first presumptive optimistic case of the novel coronavirus on Saturday. When requested if he was involved in regards to the virus getting near the White House, Trump stated, “No, I’m not concerned at all.”
