WASHINGTON,   (Xinhua) - Bill Cassidy, Republican senator from the US state of Louisiana, said Thursday he tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

"I am strictly following the direction of our medical experts and strongly encourage others to do the same," he said in a statement. The senator's office said he planned to begin a 14-day quarantine.

Cassidy was notified Wednesday night that he had been exposed to someone with the coronavirus and was tested Thursday. The test came back positive.

He became the second senator to contract the virus after Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky tested positive in March.

The Senate is currently in recess. Unlike the House where a mask mandate has been ordered by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, no such requirements have been issued in the upper chamber.   ■