U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky is the first senator to test positive for novel coronavirus COVID-19.
The virus has caused a global pandemic and infected almost 30,000 people in the United States, killing at least 377 Americans. There are more than 300,000 cases of confirmed worldwide, with many more believed to be undiagnosed.
Paul’s office announced he had a confirmed case of the virus today in a statement. He has not yet experienced any symptoms, that statement says.
“Senator Rand Paul has tested positive for COVID-19,” the statement tweeted from his official account reads. “He is feeling fine and is in quarantine. He is asymptomatic and was tested out of an abundance of caution due to his extensive travel and events. He was not aware of any direct contact with any infected person.
“He expects to be back in the Senate after his quarantine period ends and will continue to work for the people of Kentucky at this difficult time. Ten days ago, our D.C. office began operating remotely, hence virtually no staff has had contact with Senator Rand Paul.”
U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney acknowledged that he and other senators had been in a meeting with Paul Friday. He said he hoped Paul is doing fine and mentioned the senator has prior health conditions.
“We were in a lunch together with Rand,” Romney told reporters today. “Hope he’s doing really well. We have to determine whether any of us should self-quarantine as a result of being in the same room.”
Coronaviruses are a broad category of virus that cause the common cold, among other illnesses. The virus that causes COVID-19 is what scientists call a new, or “novel” form of the virus — one that hasn’t been encountered before and one which epidemiologists do not yet know how to combat.
The virus causes mild symptoms, or no symptoms at all, in up to 80 percent of those who contract it. But it can also cause very acute respiratory illness that can require hospitalization and even lead to death — mostly among people who are over the age of 60 or who have chronic illness or compromised immune systems.
This article appears in Best Of Cincinnati 2020 (12098053).