Sen. Bill Cassidy tests positive for COVID-19, has 'mild symptoms'
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Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a physician from Baton Rouge, shared on Thursday that he tested positive for COVID-19 and has "mild symptoms."
The 62-year-old is the second senator to announce they tested positive for the virus; in March, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) revealed he had tested positive but was asymptomatic. Cassidy is quarantining at his home in Louisiana, and said in a statement he is "strictly following the direction of our medical experts and strongly encourage others to do the same."
Cassidy is regularly spotted wearing a mask both at public events and while on Capitol Hill, and said he was tested after being notified on Wednesday that he had been exposed to someone infected with the virus. Earlier in the day, Cassidy, who is up for re-election in November, visited a veterans hospital in Shreveport, where he posed for photos with officials.
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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.
