Rick Scott tests positive for coronavirus

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said on Friday that he has tested positive for the coronavirus, roughly a week after he started self-quarantining.

Scott, in a statement, said that after getting multiple negative results, a test that he took on Tuesday came back positive on Friday morning.

“After several negative tests, I learned I was positive this morning. I am feeling good and experiencing very mild symptoms. I will be working from home in Naples until it is safe for me to return to Washington, D.C.,” Scott said in a statement.

Scott is the latest to test positive amid a new outbreak of cases among lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who is 87, also announced this week that he had tested positive but has said as recently as Thursday that he is symptom free. 

Scott is the seventh senator known to test positive for the coronavirus. In addition to Scott and Grassley, Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) have each tested positive. 

Other senators, including Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.), have said they have tested positive for coronavirus antibodies, indicating they were previously exposed to the virus, and several other lawmakers have had to quarantine due to exposure to their colleagues or other coronavirus-positive individuals. 

Scott announced on Saturday that he was going to self-quarantine after being exposed to an individual in Florida the previous day who subsequently tested positive for the coronavirus.