PHOENIX — Arizona's U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly had recently come into contact with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) shortly before his Republican colleague tested positive for the coronavirus.
In a statement released by Kelly's office on Monday, Arizona's Democratic senator disclosed meeting up with Graham over the weekend during a bipartisan gathering hosted by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia).
“Senator Kelly is fully vaccinated and following CDC guidelines and the advice of the Office of the Attending Physician,” Kelly's office wrote in a statement.
Despite being vaccinated, Graham said he tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday after he started feeling flu-like symptoms Saturday night. Graham in a tweet said he plans to quarantine for at least 10 days.
"I am very glad I was vaccinated because without vaccination I am certain I would not feel as well as I do now," Graham wrote in the tweet.
Democratic senators Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto, both from Nevada, also attended Manchin's gathering alongside Graham. None of the meeting's attendees have reported testing positive for COVID-19.
Current guidelines set by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention don't encourage fully-vaccinated citizens to quarantine after interacting with an infected person unless they start to feel ill themselves.
The CDC recommends that someone in Kelly's position should get tested within a couple days of exposure and to wear masks in public for at least two weeks.
