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Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, who says he was told he came into contact with someone who is infected with coronavirus at the Conservative Political Action Conference, spent the weekend with President Trump at his resort in Mar-a-Lago, according to two sources familiar.
Gaetz also spent Saturday evening as the president’s guest at an intimate dinner with Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro.
On Monday, Gaetz also rode in the presidential limousine in Orlando with Trump.
The men were seen sitting just feet from each other chatting in the presidential vehicle.
They both exited the presidential vehicle and boarded Air Force One on Monday for the flight back to Andrews Air Force Base.
It was aboard that flight that Gaetz “was informed today by CPAC while he was mid-flight on Air Force One that he had come in contact with the infected attendee,” according to his office. “Once he landed, he then was immediately tested” for the coronavirus.
Another White House official says once Gaetz was informed, he sat in a section of Air Force One by himself as a precaution.
In a series of tweets, Gaetz’s official account says, “While the Congressman is not experiencing symptoms, he received testing today and expects results soon. Under doctor’s usual precautionary recommendations, he’ll remain self-quarantined until the 14-day period expires this week.” And his official account also noted that his “Washington office will be closed during this time, with our Pensacola office remaining open.”
CPAC head Matt Schlapp told CNN that Gaetz was informed this afternoon that he came into contact with the CPAC attendee who tested positive for the coronavirus. However, he could not say what time Gaetz was informed.
Schlapp says CPAC officials are “in regular contact with the patient and the patient’s family” to ascertain who the individual came in contact with at CPAC.
“We are getting the information and as soon as we get it we contact the individuals involved,” Schlapp said.
CNN’s Jim Acosta, Kaitlan Collins, Jeremy Diamond and Maegan Vazquez contributed to this reporting.
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