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This may be the closest known possible contact he has had with the virus.
Two GOP members of Congress who interacted with President Donald Trump over the weekend announced Monday they will voluntarily self-quarantine after discovering they both interacted with the Conservative Political Action Conference attendee who tested positive for novel coronavirus.
Georgia Rep. Doug Collins announced he’d been informed there’s a photo of him with the Conservative Political Action Conference attendee who tested positive for the virus. He shook hands with Trump on the tarmac at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Mariette, Georgia, Friday and then joined the president on a tour of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
The second congressman, Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz was spotted at Mar-a-Lago Saturday night attending a dinner with Trump, who was hosting Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
Gaetz also rode with Trump in Trump’s car — nicknamed “The Beast” — to the Orlando airport Monday and then flew back to Washington with him on Air Force One.
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Despite concerns that administration officials were exposed to COVID-19 at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland late February, senior White House sources told ABC News Monday that President Trump and his closest advisers have not been tested for coronavirus as of Monday morning.
The contacts with Collins and Gaetz may have been the closest known Trump has had with someone who directly interacted with an individual who tested positive for the virus.
“This afternoon, I was notified by CPAC that they discovered a photo of myself and the patient who has tested positive for coronavirus. While I feel completely healthy and I am not experiencing any symptoms, I have decided to self-quarantine at my home for the remainder of the 14-day period out of an abundance of caution,” Collins said in a statement Monday afternoon. “I will follow the recommendations of the House Physician and my office will provide updates as appropriate.”
Two other staffers who were with Collins are also self-quarantining out of an abundance of caution. They told ABC News they are not experiencing any symptoms at the time and feel fine.
A member of Gaetz staff posted about the congressman on Twitter saying, “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.”
Gaetz received backlash on Twitter last week for posting a photo of himself wearing a gas mask, which some said made light of a serious public health matter. One of his constituents died from the coronavirus just days later.
A top aide to Gaetz told ABC News, “the office was informed today by CPAC while he was mid-flight on Air Force One that he had come in contact with the infected attendee. Once he landed, he then was immediately tested.”
Collins and Gaetz join at least two of their Republican colleagues in Congress — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar — who also announced they’d voluntarily self-quarantine amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The American Conservative Union, which organized the CPAC event, first announced in a statement on Saturday that a CPAC attendee had tested positive for COVID-19. While the exposure occurred before the conference, the person still attended the event and is now in the care of medical professionals in New Jersey.
Also on Saturday, the District of Columbia reported its first presumptive positive case of the novel coronavirus — but when asked if he was concerned about the virus getting close to the White House, Trump said, “No, I’m not concerned at all.”
The coronavirus has since spread to at least 34 states with more than 600 reported cases in the U.S.
ABC News’ Katherine Faulders, Ben Gittleson, Jordyn Phelps and Lauren Lantry contributed to this report.
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