Ted Cruz Quarantines Himself After Interacting With Coronavirus-Positive Individual
Texas Senator Ted Cruz released a statement Sunday evening in which he reveals that he has quarantined himself after interacting with an individual who tested positive for coronavirus at last week’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland.
“I’m not experiencing any symptoms, and I feel fine and healthy,” he wrote.
“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 noted that physicians told him that testing would not be effective as he has not yet experienced a manifestation of symptoms. He also said that his interaction did not meet the self-quarantine standards provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Regardless, he said he is beginning such a process this week in the interest of caution.
“Everyone should continue to treat this outbreak seriously and be driven by facts and medical science,” he wrote at the conclusion of the statement.
Cruz encouraged the public to follow the recommendations of the CDC and health professionals to protect the “health and welfare” of themselves and those around them.
Today I released the following statement: pic.twitter.com/XGXEa4ozcg
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) March 8, 2020
As reported by CNN, the American Conservative Union (ACU) revealed on Saturday that a CPAC attendee tested positive for coronavirus. The conference was attended by President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and other members of the president’s administration. According to the ACU, neither Trump nor Pence came into contact with the individual or attended the conference events held in the main hall.
During a Sunday appearance on Fox & Friends, CPAC Chairman Matt Schlapp spoke about the coronavirus-positive individual and claimed they are “feeling better.”
Although Schlapp said he came into contact with the patient at the conference, he said he was feeling “healthy as a horse” and was not concerned about getting sick. The individual in question is allegedly quarantined in New Jersey and receiving medical care.
As The Inquisitr reported, former Trump administration health security official Tom Bossert appeared on ABC News’ This Week on Sunday and said that the coronavirus could infect up to 100 million people in the United States unless serious countermeasures are taken quickly.
Bossert, whose position in the Trump administration has not been filled since his departure, used the virus’s alleged 30 percent attack rate to make the prediction that as many as 100 million people in the U.S. population could become infected with COVID-19.