MIAMI — Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott tested positive for COVID-19, his office announced Friday, making him the second U.S. senator to test positive this week as cases surge across the country.
In a statement, Scott said he was experiencing mild symptoms. He's been in self-quarantine at his home in Naples since Saturday after coming into contact with an individual who tested positive, though he did not register a positive test himself until six days later.
"After several negative tests, I learned I was positive this morning," Scott said in a statement. "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. I want to remind everyone to be careful and do the right things to protect yourselves and others."
Scott's absence in Washington this week helped sink, at least temporarily, President Donald Trump's Federal Reserve Board nominee Judy Shelton, who faced opposition from Democrats and enough Republicans for her nomination to fail in Scott's absence. Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, the president pro tempore of the Senate and third in the line of presidential succession, also tested for COVID this week.
In addition to Scott and Grassley, at least four members of the House of Representatives tested positive for COVID this week, a potential public health risk as lawmakers travel across the country to work in Washington and are often in close proximity to one another and their staffs while on Capitol Hill. The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives is allowing lawmakers to cast a proxy vote during the pandemic, while the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate is not.
In his statement, Scott did not encourage people to stay home for the holidays, as the CDC recommended on Thursday amid rising case counts nationwide, but he did urge Floridians to take other measures, including wearing a mask, something many Republican politicians have not done at events across the state.
"Wear a mask. Social distance. Quarantine if you come in contact with someone positive like I did," Scott said. "As we approach Thanksgiving, we know this holiday will be different this year. But, listen to public health officials and follow their guidance. We will beat this together, but we all have to be responsible. I want to thank all the incredible health care workers who are working around the clock to care for patients and I pray that by next Thanksgiving, COVID-19 will be a thing of the past."
Scott said that on the evening of November 13 he came into contact with someone who tested positive after returning to Florida following a week of Senate votes. His office said he had multiple rapid tests that came back negative until a PCR test he took on Tuesday came back positive on Friday morning.
In Florida, 17,810 people have died from COVID since March 1, while over 914,000 people have tested positive through Thursday, according to data from the Florida Department of Health.
