Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) tested negative for the CCP virus but will remain in self-isolation for two weeks, causing him to miss out on several crucial COVID-19 relief package votes.
“Thankfully, I’ve tested negative for COVID-19,” Romney wrote on Twitter. “Nevertheless, guidance from my physician, consistent with the CDC guidelines, requires me to remain in quarantine as the test does not rule out the onset of symptoms during the 14-day period.”
Thankfully I’ve tested negative for COVID-19. Nevertheless, guidance from my physician, consistent with the CDC guidelines, requires me to remain in quarantine as the test does not rule out the onset of symptoms during the 14-day period.
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) March 24, 2020
Romney took a chartered flight back to Utah with fellow Utah senator Mike Lee, according to The Salt Lake Tribune, when he heard that Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) tested positive for the CCP virus on Sunday. NTD refers to the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, as the CCP virus because the Chinese Communist Party’s coverup and mismanagement allowed the virus to spread throughout China and create a global pandemic.
Romney and Lee had been in close contact with Paul and went into self-isolation as a precautionary measure despite neither senators showing any symptoms, they said.
On Tuesday, Romney said his results came back negative, while Lee said his doctor recommend he not be tested because he has no symptoms or other risk factors.
“However, given the timing, proximity, and duration of my exposure to Sen. Paul, she directed me to self-quarantine for 14 days. That means no traveling or voting. But I will continue to make sure Utah’s voice is heard as we shape the federal response to the Coronavirus through phone, text, email and whatever other means are available,” he said in a statement.
Sen. Lee Statement on Sen. Paul’s COVID-19 Testhttps://t.co/1WXhnfV62m pic.twitter.com/knTpO6FBL3
— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) March 22, 2020
“If I were to get COVID-19 or if Mike were to get it, we would certainly want to be in a place where we have our own physicians and our own hospital,” Romney said in an interview Monday, reported the Tribune. “If I’m in Washington, D.C., I don’t have a relationship with physicians there. And I don’t even know which hospital you go to.”
Romney said he was passing his time on a stationary bike, wearing a tracksuit, and working on his iPhone.
“My daughter-in-law brought me some food and put it outside the front door,” Romney told the newspaper. “My son Josh brought over tons of food. He went to Costco this morning and brought in all sorts of supplies for me: ramen, rice, beans, peanut butter, hotdogs, hamburger—all of my favorite food groups.”