An attendee at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) who tested positive for the coronavirus came into contact with Sen. Ted Cruz during the political conflab in late February. Cruz put out a statement on Sunday announcing that he would remain home for the upcoming week.
"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. That interaction consisted of a brief conversation and a handshake," Cruz said in a statement.
The Texas senator consulted with various medical authorities and said he is not currently experiencing any symptoms.
"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," the statement reads.
Cruz was advised by physicians that testing would not be effective unless the senator begins to develop symptoms. Due to his brief interaction with the infected attendee, Cruz said that he did not meet the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's criteria for self-quarantine.
"The medical authorities explicitly advised me that, given the above criteria, the people who have interacted with me in the 10 days since CPAC should not be concerned about potential transmission," said the senator.
Cruz said it was "out of an abundance of caution" that he has chosen to remain in his Texas home for the upcoming week.
"Everyone should continue to treat this outbreak seriously and be driven by facts and medical science," Cruz said in his statement. "We need to continue to be proactive in mobilizing resources to combat this outbreak-including the $8.3 billion in emergency funding we provided last week-and I encourage everyone to follow the recommendations of the CDC and other health professionals in protecting their own health and welfare, as well as the health and welfare of those around them."
Today I released the following statement: pic.twitter.com/XGXEa4ozcg
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) March 8, 2020