Rick Scott to quarantine after contact with person who tested positive for COVID-19

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said Saturday he would self-quarantine after he came into contact with a person who later tested positive for the coronavirus.

Scott said he tested negative for the coronavirus Saturday morning and is feeling no symptoms but that out of “an abundance of caution” he’d “be immediately quarantining.” 

After arriving in Florida last night, I came into contact with someone who subsequently tested positive for COVID.

I was tested this morning and the result was negative. I have no symptoms, but out of an abundance of caution, I will be immediately quarantining.

— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) November 14, 2020

Several senators have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, including Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) announced earlier this week that he would enter quarantine after he met with a staff member in Indiana who later tested positive for COVID-19.

Scott’s announcement comes as he’s set to take on an expanded role in the next Congress as head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, heading into what is expected to be a tough 2022 cycle for the party. 

The Floridian’s quarantine comes as Florida and other states across the country continue to see alarming spikes in coronavirus cases, fueling a third wave of infections that experts warn could get worse when social events move indoors during the winter months.