Rand Paul is the first senator to test positive for coronavirus

Rand Paul.
(Image credit: Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Sunday became the first known lawmaker in the upper chamber to test positive for the novel COVID-19 coronavirus.

Paul's office announced on Twitter he is asymptomatic and was tested for precautionary reasons because of his extensive travel, adding that he did not have any direct contact with a known infected person. Paul will now work from his Kentucky home under quarantine, but he expects to be back in the Senate when that period ends. Staffers at his office in Washington, D.C., began working remotely 10 days ago, and have subsequently had very little contact with the senator, though Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said Paul's colleagues in the Senate are seeking medical advice about whether they should self-quarantine.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.