'I have immunity': Rand Paul, who tested positive for coronavirus in March, spotted at the Capitol without a mask

• Sen. Rand Paul was spotted by reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday without a mask, despite the fact that many lawmakers now wear face coverings on recommendations from the CDC.
• Paul had tested positive for the coronavirus in March, but was asymptomatic.
• He caused an uproar and sent two senators into precautionary quarantine when it was revealed he went to the Capitol while awaiting his test results.
• He announced he was free of the virus in early April.
• Paul claimed that he did not need to wear a mask because "I have immunity. I've already had the virus."
• While Dr. Anthony Fauci has said people who recovered from the coronavirus would likely have some immunity, the World Health Organization has cautioned that it has yet to be determined.
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On Tuesday, weeks after testing positive for the coronavirus and subsequently recovering, Sen. Rand Paul visited the Capitol but refused to wear a mask.

When asked by reporters why he'd foregone the protective covering, Paul, an ophthalmologist who still occasionally performs surgeries, claimed he had immunity, and could not spread the virus.

"I have immunity. I've already had the virus," Paul said on Tuesday.

The Centers for Disease Control has recommended that Americans wear non-medical face coverings to offer another means of protection for themselves and other people, in addition to social distancing and hand washing. Many members of Congress now wear masks in the complex, though they will frequently remove them to speak on the House or Senate floor.

The Kentucky Republican caused an uproar in March when he tested positive for the coronavirus but continued to visit the Capitol as he awaited test results. Though he was asymptomatic, two of his colleagues, Sens. Mike Lee and Mitt Romney of Utah, self-quarantined after coming into contact with him.

"So I can't get it again and I can't give it to anybody," Paul continued. "So of all the people you'll meet here I'm about the only safe person in Washington."

In fact, when it comes to immunity to the coronavirus, there's a lot that's still unknown.

In early April, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, said that, "Generally we know with infections like this, that at least for a reasonable period of time, you're gonna have antibodies that are going to be protective."

But researchers have not yet definitively found that having the coronavirus will automatically impart immunity. The World Health Organization warned in late April that there was "currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection."

And because the virus is so new, researchers are still studying its transmission.

"We don't have nearly the immunological or biological data at this point to say that if someone has a strong enough immune response that they are protected from symptoms, … that they cannot be transmitters," Michael Mina, an epidemiologist at Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health, told STAT News last month.

Paul's office did not immediately return a request for comment.

Paul is not the only Republican lawmaker to forgo a mask, but he is the only Senator who has so far announced he'd tested positive for the virus.

Congress' Office of the Attending Physician has recommended that members and visitors wear masks, according to a hearing notice from the House Appropriations Committee.

"The OAP recommends all individuals maintain 6-foot social distance spacing as much as practicable when in the Capitol Complex," the email said. "Additionally, on the advice of the OAP, the use of a face covering is recommended for all attendees of this proceeding."

Some Republicans, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, have faced questions about why they have chosen not to wear a mask on the Hill.

"If you noticed where we did not wear masks is where we had social distancing," McCarthy said in a recent call with reporters, when asked about times on the House floor when he was not wearing a face covering.

Last week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell praised the OAP for devising safety guidelines for returning members, and wrote, "I strongly urge my colleagues to consult these guidelines as we carefully resume in-person work."

Kimberly Leonard contributed to this report.