Kentucky official seen at Senate gym on Sunday says he feels fine and is in quarantine

This article is more than 5 months old

This article is more than 5 months old

The Kentucky senator Rand Paul has tested positive for Covid-19, becoming the first case of the virus in the Senate and raising fears about its further transmission among Republicans at the Capitol.

Paul, an eye surgeon, went into quarantine on Sunday after learning the results. He said he had not had symptoms and was tested due to his extensive travel and events. He added he was not aware of any direct contact with any infected person.

Paul’s announcement led Utah’s two Republican senators, Mike Lee and Mitt Romney, to place themselves into quarantine, stepping away from negotiations as the Senate worked on a $1.4tn (£1.2tn) economic rescue package for the coronavirus crisis.

At least five senators, including Paul, were in self-quarantine on Sunday, the US Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, said. “The coronavirus has hit the Senate today,’’ he added. “It’s not just back in our states but right here in the Senate.’’

The Democratic senator of Arizona, Kyrsten Sinema, criticised Paul on Twitter, calling his decision to return to the Capitol after being tested but before receiving the results “absolutely irresponsible”.

Sinema added she had “never commented about a fellowsenators’ choices/actions. Never once”.

But she said: “This, America, is absolutely irresponsible. You cannot be near other people while waiting for coronavirus test results. It endangers others and likely increases the spread of the virus.’’

Other senators, including Ted Cruz of Texas and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, had gone into self-quarantine while they awaited the results of a coronavirus test. Both were negative.

Responding to criticism on Twitter, Paul’s office said, “We want to be clear, Senator Paul left the Senate immediately upon learning of his diagnosis. He had zero contact with anyone and went into quarantine. Insinuations ... that he went to the gym after learning of his results are just completely false and irresponsible!’’

Representatives of Paul’s office did not say when he was tested and could not immediately be reached for comment.

Donald Trump called Paul “a great friend” who “was always there when we needed him”.

Paul’s diagnosis came after two House members, the Republican representative of Florida, Mario Díaz-Balart and the Democratic representative of Utah, Ben McAdams, tested positive for coronavirus.

Trump said the positive test results showed the virus was hitting quite close to home: “It’s a terrible thing that’s going on … Paul and other lawmakers are going to be fine. I hope they’ll be fine.’’

Paul was among eight Senate Republicans who voted against a House-passed bill last week that provided more than $100bn to boost coronavirus testing and guarantee paid sick leave for millions of workers. He also was the only Republican senator who opposed an earlier bill authorising $8.3bn for the initial response to coronavirus.

The Kentucky senator was on Capitol Hill last week, including at a Friday luncheon among other GOP senators. He spoke on the Senate floor on Wednesday afternoon, addressing the coronavirus crisis and a failed amendment he sponsored that would have paid for virus relief efforts by withdrawing US forces from Afghanistan.

A spokesman for Republican senator of Kansas, Jerry Moran, said Moran briefly saw Paul at the Senate gym on Sunday morning and that he shared that information with GOP colleagues at a policy meeting.

“Moran followed CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidelines and kept a safe distance between him and senator Paul,” the spokesman, Tom Brandt, said, adding that Moran had spoken to the attending physician at the Capitol and had been told he did not need to self-quarantine.

Romney said he was praying for Paul and noted the senator’s health was already compromised. Paul, 57, broke several ribs in 2017 when a neighbour assaulted him over a longstanding landscaping dispute.

Paul, who was awarded $580,000 in damages and medical expenses, had surgery last year to remove part of a lung damaged by the assault.