On Sunday, Senator Ted Cruz announced on Twitter that he would self-quarantine for 14 days following a meeting with a man at CPAC who later tested positive for the coronavirus. Later that night, Arizona Congressman Paul Gosar also announced he and three senior staff members would self-quarantine following an interaction with the man at the conservative conference. On Monday, Georgia Representative Doug Collins announced that he too would self quarantine, after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention informed the House Judiciary ranking member that he was in a picture with the coronavirus patient.
“That interaction consisted of a brief conversation and a handshake,” Cruz wrote, adding that he is not experiencing symptoms. Because he made contact with the man at the Conservative Political Action Conference 10 days ago, he will remain in his home for four days until a full two weeks has passed since the encounter — although he writes that the exchange “does not meet the criteria for self-quarantine. The Texas Republican added that “medical authorities explicitly advised” him that “the people who have interacted with me in the 10 days since CPAC should not be concerned about potential transmission.”
Cruz’s caution is consistent with his overall approach to the coronavirus outbreak: In January, he was an early voice calling for a travel ban to China and is one of a small number of Republicans casting doubts over the government’s preparedness — if not openly criticizing the Trump administration for its mismanagement of the crisis.
On Saturday, CPAC announced that an attendee of the conference — where President Trump, Vice-President Mike Pence, and many other administration officials were present — tested positive for coronavirus. The news did not affect the president’s schedule: At Mar-a-Lago, where he spent the weekend golfing, Trump told reporters that he was “not concerned at all” and had no intentions of cancelling campaign events. “We’ll hold tremendous rallies,” he said. But after holding six in the past month, none are currently scheduled.
