Gage Skidmore
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Sen. Ted Cruz announced Sunday evening that he’ll be spending the better part of a week at home after meeting a person later confirmed to have COVID-19 – the disease stemming from the novel coronavirus – at the Conservative Political Action Conference the week before last. Cruz is not sick and has not been tested for the virus.
Today I released the following statement: pic.twitter.com/XGXEa4ozcg
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) March 8, 2020
“I’m not experiencing any symptoms, and I feel fine and healthy,” Cruz said. “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. …
“Nevertheless, out of an abundance of caution, and because of how frequently I interact with my constituents as a part of my job and to give everyone peace of mind, I have decided to remain at my home in Texas this week, until a full 14 days have passed since the CPAC interaction.”
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The group that puts on the conference, the American Conservative Union, announced the positive test on Saturday.
“This attendee had no interaction with the president or the vice president and never attended the events in the main hall,” the group said in a statement. “The Trump administration is aware of the situation, and we will continue regular communication with all appropriate government officials.”
The conference attendee is quarantined in New Jersey.
According to the latest count from The New York Times, 22 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Texas. Each of those people is believed to have caught the virus while traveling elsewhere. All of those who’ve tested positive are in the San Antonio or Houston areas.
