Sen. Mitt Romney ordered a private plane back to Utah upon learning that Sen. Rand Paul, with whom he interacted during the last week, tested positive for the coronavirus.
Sen. Mike Lee, who is also self-quarantining after having contact with Paul, flew back to Utah with fellow Republican Romney. The two wore N95 masks on the flight and sat 6 feet apart.
“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 told the Salt Lake 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 acknowledged that a majority of U.S. citizens do not have the means to order a chartered flight to safety.
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He was tested for the coronavirus Monday morning but has not yet received the results, he said. His wife, Ann, who has multiple sclerosis, has been staying elsewhere while the Republican senator is quarantined at their home.
Other family members have been supplying him with food.
“My daughter-in-law brought me some food and put it outside the front door,” Romney said. “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.”
He said his son left the food on his doorstep.
“And then he backed away like I was some kind of a wildcat, you know, in its cage,” Romney said.
