Rand Paul becomes first U.S. senator to announce positive coronavirus test

Republican U.S. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky has tested positive for coronavirus, his office said in a statement on Sunday, becoming the first member of the upper chamber of Congress to announce he has COVID-19 as the number of U.S. cases continued to grow.

Paul has no symptoms and was tested out of "abundance of caution" given his recent travels, according to the statement, which comes as the Senate prepared to take up a massive economic relief bill.

Other U.S. senators self-quarantined as a precaution in recent weeks, and at least two members of the House of Representatives have also tested positive.