MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace wondered if hoping that Republican Sen. Rand Paul recovers from the coronavirus has been “made more difficult” after the politician didn’t practice self-quarantining while awaiting his COVID-19 test results.
“I don’t want this to come off sounding harsh, but I think when people hear that Republican Sen. Rand Paul submitted to a test and then swam in the pool, that the gym was open … what does it say that, in the Capitol, at least this Republican senator didn’t seem to have much regard for the health of the people around him?” Wallace said Monday.
“I think everybody hopes he’s OK. I think not wishing anyone to be sick or to be exposed is a universal sentiment, but I wonder if that’s just made more difficult.”
Paul recently disclosed to the public that he tested positive for the coronavirus but is showing no symptoms.
“Senator Rand Paul has tested positive for COVID-19. He is feeling fine and is in quarantine,” his account tweeted. “He is asymptomatic and was tested out of an abundance of caution due to his extensive travel and events. He was not aware of any direct contact with any infected person.”
Senator Rand Paul has tested positive for COVID-19. He is feeling fine and is in quarantine. He is asymptomatic and was tested out of an abundance of caution due to his extensive travel and events. He was not aware of any direct contact with any infected person.
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 22, 2020
Paul has been criticized by several media outlets for not self-quarantining while awaiting the results of his test, which was a move he defended by claiming he followed the proper protocol.
“For those who want to criticize me for lack of quarantine, realize that if the rules on testing had been followed to a tee, I would never have been tested and would still be walking around the halls of the Capitol,” he said in a statement. “The current guidelines would not have called for me to get tested nor quarantined. It was my extra precaution, out of concern for my damaged lung, that led me to get tested.”
