A second Democratic U.S. lawmaker mentioned she had examined constructive for COVID-19 days after being locked down for hours with different colleagues, together with Republicans who didn’t put on a face masks, to keep away from the mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol.
The publicity provides one other worrisome consequence following Wednesday’s assault on Congress when lawmakers and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence had been threatened by pro-Trump rioters storming the legislative constructing. Health consultants warn it was additionally a superspreader occasion for the novel coronavirus.
“Unfortunately, I think we’re going to see more cases of members of Congress and their staff testing positive in the days ahead,” Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health, informed MSNBC in an interview on Tuesday. “It’s one of the consequences of that horrible day last week.”
U.S. Representatives Pramila Jayapal and Bonnie Watson Coleman introduced their constructive take a look at outcomes on Monday and blamed Republicans for refusing to put on masks whereas remoted for hours in shut quarters. Both mentioned they’re quarantining.
“Too many Republicans have refused to take this pandemic and virus seriously, and in doing so, they endanger everyone around them,” Jayapal, 55, mentioned in a press release late on Monday, including on Twitter that they “not only cruelly refused to wear a mask but recklessly mocked colleagues and staff who offered them one.”
U.S. lawmakers who refuse to put on masks within the Capitol ought to be fined and instantly faraway from the chamber’s flooring, she added.
Watson Coleman, a 75-year-old most cancers survivor, mentioned she was awaiting outcomes from a extra complete take a look at after her speedy COVID-19 take a look at got here again constructive.
The attending doctor for Congress, Dr. Brian Monahan, warned after the assault that the roughly 200 individuals, together with some lawmakers and employees, who hid collectively for hours in a closed room might have been uncovered to the coronavirus.
At least six Republican representatives refused to put on masks, CNN reported, citing video and images posted on-line.
Health officers have warned the assault might change into a serious spreading occasion, not solely amongst lawmakers but additionally nationwide as members of the principally maskless crowd traveled house from Washington.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and out of doors scientists have mentioned correctly worn face masks may also help cut back the unfold of the extremely contagious infectious illness together with different precautions, however their use has change into a political flashpoint.