Houston Chronicle - Ted Cruz reflects on 10 days of self-quarantine [Opinion]

Op-Ed

By Ted Cruz

On March 8, I received an unexpected call that I had been exposed to the coronavirus. Nine days earlier, at a conference in Washington, I had shaken hands with a person who was now sick and had just tested positive for COVID-19. Several questions rushed to my mind as I held the phone up to my ear: Could I have the virus? Is my family okay? And could I have -- God forbid -- unintentionally transmitted the virus to others?

Fortunately, I was able to quickly get on the phone with medical professionals at the Houston Health Department, the Harris County Public Health Department, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Health and Human Services and my personal physician. They all assured me that the odds of transmission were low, and that -- because the interaction was brief and I had been asymptomatic for nine days -- I didn't meet the CDC criteria for self-quarantine.

Source