Rand Paul says he did the right thing by not following coronavirus testing guidelines

(Image credit: Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)

published 24 March 2020

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is defending getting a coronavirus test despite not showing any symptoms, saying that if he hadn't been tested, he never would have known he contracted the virus and could have spread it to his colleagues.

Paul announced on Sunday afternoon that he tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus. His office said Paul is feeling fine, and thought he should receive a test because he travels often and in recent weeks attended several events. Republican senators told CNN that on Sunday morning, Paul was at the Senate gym, a move deemed "irresponsible" by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.). He also sat very close to other senators during lunches last week, including Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who has decided to self-quarantine.

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"For those who want to criticize me for lack of quarantine, realize that if rules on testing had been followed to a tee, I would never have been tested and would still be walking around the halls of the Capitol," Paul said in a statement Monday. "The current guidelines would not have called for me to get tested nor quarantined. It was my extra precaution, out of concern for my damaged lung, that led me to get tested."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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