Representatives Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.) and Doug Collins (R., Ga.) announced on Monday they were moving to self-quarantine after being informed they had met with a Conservative Political Action Conference attendee who has since been diagnosed with Wuhan coronavirus.
Both congressmen have directly interacted with President Trump in the following days. Gaetz made his announcment an hour after leaving a meeting with Trump on Air Force One.
“While the Congressman is not experiencing symptoms, he received testing today and expects results soon,” Gaetz’s staff posted on Twitter. “Under doctor’s usual precautionary recommendations, he’ll remain self-quarantined until the 14-day period expires this week”
“This afternoon, I was notified by CPAC that they discovered a photo of myself and the patient who has tested positive for COVID-19,” Collins said in a statement. “While I am not experiencing any symptoms, I have decided to self-quarantine at my home for the remainder of the 14-day period out of an abundance of caution.”
On Friday, after attending CPAC, Collins visited the headquarters of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, where he met with President Trump, health secretary Alex Azar and other officials.
On Sunday Senator Ted Cruz (R., Texas) and Representative Paul Gosar (R., Ariz.) both announced they had met the patient and were placing themselves in self-quarantine.
“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 said in a statement.
Gosar, who interacted with the patient along with three members of his staff, said “We are all asymptomatic and feel great. But we are being proactive and cautious. Keep the person in the hospital in your prayers.”
There are currently 589 confirmed cases of Wuhan coronavirus in the U.S., with 22 deaths so far.