I can’t say this surprises me except to the extent I would have thought the Capitol Police would have been vaccinated early:
Nearly 20 members of the U.S. Capitol Police are quarantining after testing positive for COVID-19, according to a report from Bloomberg.
Bloomberg’s Billy House reports 19 officers tested positive for the virus and additional cops were sent home due to contract tracing. House adds there’s no way to confirm the cases are related to the Jan. 6 riots.
A number of lawmakers have tested positive for the virus after being evacuated as rioters stormed the hallways of the building.
Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.), Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) and Lou Correa (D-Calif.) have all reported positive test results since January 6, according to ABC News.President Trump delivers recorded farewell address
After seeing images and video from the event, experts quickly labeled it a superspreader. Many of the rioters were not wearing masks and were within 6 feet of each other.
“This was in so many ways an extraordinarily dangerous event…not only from the security aspects but from the public health aspects, and there will be a fair amount of disease that comes from it,” Eric Toner, senior scholar at the John Hopkins Center for Health Security, told the Washington Post.
Toner noted because of the scope of the event, the spread of COVID-19 would be nearly impossible to track.12 National Guard members removed from Biden inauguration after vetting
“It is a very real possibility that this will lead to a major outbreak but one that we may or may not be able to recognize,” Toner added. “All the cases to likely derive from this event will likely be lost in the huge number of cases we have in the country right now.”
We won’t know how many additional deaths were caused by this outrageous riot the President of the United States called for on January 6th. But it’s pretty certain that somebody will die of COVID because these people spread it around.
Update: