The coronavirus crisis is starting to hit Capitol Hill as two Republican lawmakers announced Sunday they were were in "self-quarantine" following their exposure to an infected individual at a recent gathering of conservative activists.
While neither lawmaker has been diagnosed with the disease, the two cases show that Congress — like the rest of the country — is having to grapple with the growing outbreak.
In a statement released on Twitter, Cruz wrote that he was informed of the interaction on Saturday night, and that he had engaged in a brief conversation and handshake with the affected individual.
Cruz said he had consulted with several medical authorities — some at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services — as well as Vice President Mike Pence, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the newly minted White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows.
“I’m not experiencing any symptoms, and I feel fine and healthy,” Cruz said in the statement. “Given that the interaction was 10 days ago, that the average incubation period is 5-6 days, that the interaction was for less than a minute, and that I have no current symptoms, the medical authorities have advised me that the odds of transmission from the other individual to me were extremely low.”
Cruz added that physicians advised him that the interaction did not meet the CDC criteria for self-quarantine. However, “out of an abundance of caution” for his constituents, Cruz said, he decided to remain in his Texas home for a full 14 days.
Cruz has been one of several coronavirus "hawks" in the Senate. He called for a China travel ban in January, has consistently raised questions about U.S. preparedness and held a subcommittee hearing just four days ago on how global travel could fuel the spread of the virus.
The CPAC attendee who tested positive for coronavirus was infected before the conference at Maryland‘s National Harbor. The American Conservative Union, which puts on CPAC, said on Saturday that the individual was tested at a New Jersey hospital and quarantined in that state.
Rep. Paul Gosar, a Republican of Arizona, is also under self-quarantine, along with three of his senior staff, after "sustained contact" with the affected individual at CPAC, the Arizona Republican tweeted Sunday. Gosar said although he and his staff members "feel great," they are being proactive and cautious. His office will be closed for the week.
President Donald Trump and Pence — who said on Saturday that he had not been tested for coronavirus — attended the conference. So did several administration and Cabinet officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, HHS Secretary Alex Azar, Meadows and two of the president’s children, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr.
Matt Schlapp, ACU‘s chairman, said on Sunday that neither the president nor vice president had contact with the affected individual. Schlapp, who did have incidental contact with the person, said he felt “healthy as a horse.“
“Anybody I know that might have had contact with the patient, if I can verify it, believe me, I have called that person,” he said on Fox News. “Just in abundance of caution, which I think is the right thing to do, to be transparent as we possibly can. I want to reiterate, nobody who was at the conference should panic about what happened. We‘re going to take all the necessary steps.“
On Sunday evening, CPAC organizers sent out a health warning update stating that they were continuing to work closely with the Maryland Department of Health. The department has screened thousands of employees from the Gaylord National Resort and Conference Center and the Residence Inn.
“We continue to remain in close contact with the infected individual and he continues to be doing better,” the update said. “Also, at this point, no other CPAC attendee, participant or staff has tested positive for coronavirus.”
This article originally appeared on Politico.
