Tuesday, January 12, 2021
After storming the Capitol
Two US MPs infected with corona
When the US Capitol was attacked, MPs stayed in a closed room for hours. Two parliamentarians are likely to be infected with the corona virus. One of them now blames her Republican colleagues directly for this.
Two US Democrats are believed to have been infected with the coronavirus during the attack on the Capitol. Bonnie Watson Coleman and her colleague Pramila Jayapal announced that they had tested positive. They suspect they were infected while seeking refuge from the angry mob. Jayapal blamed Republican MPs who refused to wear masks in the shelter. Jayapal reported on Twitter that she had herself tested after spending hours in a secure room with colleagues last Wednesday, many of whom did not wear respiratory protection.
"Many Republicans" refused to exercise a minimum of caution and "wear a damn mask in a crowded room in the middle of a pandemic," said the 55-year-old. In addition to a "domestic terror attack", they would have caused a "superspreader event". She added that some Republicans also "mocked" colleagues and congressional officials when they tried to offer them a mask.
Watson Coleman's office had already announced hours earlier that the 75-year-old was suffering from mild Covid-19 symptoms and was resting at home. The parliamentarian also assumes that she was infected at her refuge within the Capitol. Just a few hours after the Capitol stormed, Republican MP Jake LaTurner announced that he had tested positive for the virus. Recordings posted on the Internet also showed that several Republican MPs refused to put on face masks offered to them while hiding from the rioters in a committee room.
Mask refusers acted out of "selfish stupidity"
President-elect Joe Biden, who will take office next Wednesday, called this behavior "irresponsible". Hundreds of supporters of the elected President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol last Wednesday and caused chaos there for hours. They smashed windows, devastated offices and occupied rooms. A Trump supporter was shot dead by police in the Capitol and a police officer died the following day from his injuries. Three other people died on the brink of rioting as a result of medical emergencies.
With around 375,000 corona deaths so far, the USA is the country most severely affected by the pandemic in the world. And there are around 3,000 deaths every day. In her statement, Jayapal accused the mask refusers in Congress of having endangered the lives of others with their "selfish stupidity". You should be refused a seat in the boardroom in the future.
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