Deborah Birx said Rand Paul wouldn’t have possibly infected others with the coronavirus if he had abided by the White House guidelines on social distancing, hand washing, and self-isolation.
During a press conference on Monday, Birx, who is coordinating the White House coronavirus task force, addressed Paul’s positive case of COVID-19 and the potential effect on the Senate. She noted that keeping up with hygiene and social distancing would keep the Senate safe.
When pressed again about Paul’s condition, she said, “If he had been following these guidelines, he wouldn’t have been infecting others because of social distancing, washing your hands, doing everything that we talked about.”
Birx also revealed that she had a low-grade fever over the weekend and said she followed the precautions, got tested, and returned to work only after being cleared. Her announcement prompted some chuckles and some social distancing from President Trump.
“I got a test late Saturday night, and I’m negative. I stayed home another day just to make sure. That is how we protect one another. So, you know, unless everybody is taking their temperature every day, we can’t say that he had no symptoms,” she said. “These are the kinds of things we have to do for one another. This is the personal responsibility that I’m talking about that we all have to practice.”
