U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) announced he has tested positive for coronavirus, and he’s under fire for his actions after possibly becoming infected weeks ago yet taking no measures to protect his fellow lawmakers – and in fact putting them in danger. Sen. Paul likes to present himself as a medical doctor – and not just a medical doctor, but a surgeon. Dr. Paul is an ophthalmologist who “performs pro-bono eye surgeries for patients across Kentucky,” in his free time, according to his campaign site.
According to CNN’s Jake Tapper, Sen. Paul attended an event in Kentucky on March 7 – more than two weeks ago. On March 15 it was publicly reported that two people who also attended the event tested positive for coronavirus. It is not known if Paul was told before March 15.
Tapper’s source, who is close to Sen. Paul “says the senator was confident he hadn’t interacted with the two so he didn’t think much of it, but then he thought about the particular vulnerability of those with respiratory and lung issues.”
Thinking about his own health, Paul, the only senator to vote against a bipartisan coronavirus pandemic aid package, “decided to play it safe” and get tested:
He made no changes. Unlike others who have decided to be tested for coronavirus, he did not self-quarantine, although he did “shut down his offices because of the coronavirus, telling his staff to work from home,” about a “week and a half or so ago,” Tapper reports.
In fact, not only did Paul not self-quarantine, he sat close to other Senators, like Mitt Romney, and even worked out at the Senate gym this morning, and “swam in the pool while awaiting his test results.”
Senator Romney is self-quarantining now. He is 73 and his wife, Ann, is 70. She has an underlying medical condition (multiple sclerosis). Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) is also self-quarantining given “the timing, proximity, and duration of my exposure to Sen. Paul.”
Other Republican Senators are checking with physicians to decide if they too need to go into quarantine.
UPDATE: