Two GOP Lawmakers to Quarantine After Contact With Infected Case
Cruz said he will remain home until a full 14 days have passed since the interaction at the conservative political conference.
(Bloomberg) -- Two Republican lawmakers will self-quarantine in their houses after contact at a recent political conference with a person who later tested positive for coronavirus.
Senator Ted Cruz will self-quarantine in his Texas home. He said he had a “brief conversation and a handshake” with the unnamed person at the recent CPAC conference in National Harbor, Maryland.
“I’m not experiencing any symptoms, and I feel fine and healthy,” Cruz said in a statement, adding that authorities have advised him the odds of transmission given their brief interaction was “extremely low.” Those who’ve interacted with him in the last 10 days “should not be concerned about potential transmission,” medical authorities have told him.
Cruz said he will remain home until a full 14 days have passed since the interaction at the conservative political conference. Cruz said the CPAC interaction was 10 days ago.
CPAC is one of the largest annual gatherings of Republicans on the political calendar, with thousands of attendees packing a Washington-area conference center for days to hear from almost anyone who is anyone in the conservative political orbit. President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and several Cabinet-level Trump administration officials all spoke this year.
Republican Representative Paul Gosar, a dentist by trade from Arizona who had extended contact with the person at CPAC, said in a statement that he will close his Washington office for a week. Gosar and three senior staff members will self-quarantine this week, with Gosar staying at home in Arizona.
Gosar said that he and his staff are not experiencing any symptoms.
Cruz, in his statement, said he had informed Vice President Mike Pence, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and incoming White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows of the situation.
Congress is scheduled to be in Washington this week, so both Cruz and Gosar would miss votes starting Monday.
To contact the reporter on this story: Derek Wallbank in Singapore at dwallbank@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chua Baizhen at bchua14@bloomberg.net
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.