Rep. Matt Gaetz denied he was making light of the coronavirus outbreak when he wore a gas mask in Congress after one of his constituents died from the COVID-19 disease.

"Made light?!?! I was quite serious," the Florida Republican tweeted Sunday in response to a Washington Post headline that claimed he had been doing exactly that. "The threat to Congress is real, as I explained based on travel and habits like selfies and handshakes."

And on Monday, Gaetz tweeted "Exactly" after FloridaPolitics.com founder Peter Schorsch said Gaetz might have had the right idea with the gas mask because Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., announced they were undergoing self-quarantine after shaking hands with an infected man at last month's Conservative Political Action Conference.

"Me and my writers have lampooned @MattGaetz for what I thought was performance art," Schorsch tweeted. "But now that two members of Congress are self-quarantined because of contact at CPAC, maybe Gaetz was more right than we realized."

Gaetz wore the gas mask on the floor of the House of Representatives as he and other lawmakers voted Wednesday to approve $8.3 billion to combat the illness.

Two days later, a man in his 70s who resided in Gaetz's district died after contracting the virus. Gaetz also announced Monday that he would be self-quarantining after coming in contact with a person who had tested positive for the virus.

"I'm extremely saddened to learn of the first fatality in our district from coronavirus, a Northwest Floridian residing in Santa Rosa County. Our prayers are with his family and loved ones during this difficult time," Gaetz said in a statement on the man's death. "Please continue to take necessary precautions to minimize your exposure to any illness, including coronavirus."

Coronavirus deaths:Two deaths in Florida mark coronavirus presence in East Coast state

Gaetz's office told USA TODAY that he was concerned about the amount of contact members of Congress have with the public, which makes them "human petri dishes" who "are always in airports, taking selfies with other people’s phones."

"If there’s anybody that’s going to get coronavirus it’s going to be the United States Congress," his office said.

But many thought Gaetz wore the mask to make light of the threat posed by the virus. President Donald Trump, whom Gaetz fiercely supports, has accused the news media and his political opponents of hyping the outbreak to damage him politically.

"In 2012, I wore a hoodie on the House Floor to make a statement about the deadly consequences of racial profiling. On Wednesday, @RepMattGaetz wore a gas mask in the chamber, making light of an epidemic that has killed 14 Americans. Guess which one of us was forcibly removed," tweeted Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill.

"I think it was disgraceful that Matt Gaetz is joking about it or making light. I mean going out of his way to bring a gas mask to the House floor?" Rep. Sean Maloney said on MSNBC. "It just shows extraordinary insensitivity to people who have lost loved ones and who are now scared about what's going on."

"Our public health and safety isn't a joke but Matt Gaetz sure is," tweeted the official Twitter account of the Florida Democratic Party.

There have been more than 560 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the U.S. and 22 deaths so far, but those numbers have been rising rapidly.

Contributing: Savannah Behrmann, USA TODAY; John Pacenti, The Palm Beach Post