Texas Senator Ted Cruz announced Sunday that he will undergo self-quarantine after finding out that someone he briefly interacted with at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) last week tested positive for coronavirus.
“Last night, I was informed that 10 days ago at CPAC I briefly interacted with an individual who is currently symptomatic and has tested positive for COVID-19,” Cruz wrote in a statement. “That interaction consisted of a brief conversation and a handshake.”
Despite showing no symptoms associated with coronavirus since the interaction, Cruz said he reached the decision to act “out of an abundance of caution” after conversations with several health officials.
“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 says he was advised by his physicians that “testing is not effective before symptoms manifest.”
On the topic of testing, The Seattle Timesreports that a project funded by Bill Gates and his foundation will provide Seattle residents with home-testing kits that will determine if they have coronavirus.
The CPAC attendee who tested positive for coronavirus also interacted with chairman Matt Schlapp, who reportedly shook hands with Donald Trump at the conference. As the tweet below indicates, the timeline of that interaction could not be confirmed.
