A congressman who is the next-door neighbor of Sen. Mike Lee has tested positive for COVID-19 apparently after taking a test because he had been in contact with the Utah senator who has the disease.
Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Calif., said in a news release on Tuesday that "after discovering I was exposed to an individual who tested positive for COVID-19, I took an initial COVID-19 test which came back negative,” but he went into self-quarantine anyway.
After he developed mild symptoms, “I was instructed to take another test today by the attending physician, which resulted in a positive. I will continue to monitor symptoms and carry out my duties virtually.”
Carbajal added, “I hope this serves as a reminder of how easily this virus can spread. I followed every precaution, including wearing a mask, social distancing, and hand-washing and unfortunately was still exposed.”
After a California TV station reported that Lee was the person who exposed Carbajal, Lee’s spokesman Conn Carroll said in some tweets that it had not mentioned some key facts.
He noted that Lee had tested negative before a White House event where President Donald Trump introduced Amy Coney Barrett as his Supreme Court nominee — and event after which many attendees, including Trump, tested positive.
Carrol also noted that Lee and Carbajal “live next door to each other in the same building.”
And, he said, “Sen. Lee informed Rep. Carabajal of his diagnosis as soon as it happened, and they haven’t talked in person since. They have talked by phone.”
