It Looks Like The Attack On The Capitol Doubled As A Superspreader Event
Following last week's attack on the US Capitol, a handful of US lawmakers have sadly tested positive to coronavirus, including Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman and Congressman Brad Schneider. Coleman, by the way, is a 75-year-old cancer survivor.
In an interview after the siege, Jayapal was very much aware the riots had made her vulnerable to the potentially-lethal illness. "I'm quarantining now because I am convinced that where we ended up, in the secured room — where there were over 100 people and many were Republicans not wearing masks — was a superspreader event" she sad in an interview with The Cut.
She confirmed that she had returned a positive COVID-19 test yesterday.
Jayapal and Schneider have called out the Republicans who refused to wear masks for putting them at risk during an (already life-threatening) siege. "Any member who refuses to wear a mask should be fully held accountable for endangering our lives because of their selfish idiocy", Jayapal wrote on Twitter, while Schneider has condemned the "selfishness and arrogance of the anti-maskers who put their own contempt and disregard for decency ahead of the health and safety of their colleagues and our staff."
A video on YouTube even suggests that Republican politicians refused to put on masks during the siege, even when fresh ones were offered to them.
As it's only been a week since the siege, it's likely that more US politicians will test positive to the disease in the coming days. We wish all of those affected a swift recovery.
Written by Reena Gupta, a Melbourne-based writer for MTV Australia. Follow her on Twitter at @purpletank.
More good stuff:
