According to THE HILL on the 24th, the head of the Capitol Police Union said that since the riots on January 6, 38 Capitol policemen have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
Most of the infected are police officers and police inspectors.
Gus Papanasinu, head of the Capitol Police Union, revealed that most of the 38 infected were officers and superintendents. It is not clear whether all the infected were on duty in the Capitol riots.
Health officials believe that a large number of people at the scene did not wear masks, many of whom shouted, which may be the cause of the spread of the virus.
Papanasinu said: “The scene is crowded with people. When using pepper spray, people cough and spills of body fluids everywhere.
A congressional police spokesman said that the top priority is to provide congressional police officers with the opportunity to vaccinate against the novel coronavirus.
The January 6 U.S. Congress riots resulted in the death of one congressional police officer, dozens of congressional police officers were injured, and a police officer on duty died a few days later.
On that day, about 1,500 congressional police and about 1,000 Metropolitan policemen rushed to the scene to deal with the riots.
Another surge in coronavirus cases
According to CNN, Dr. Robert Redfield, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in an interview earlier this month: “I think this will be another surge in coronavirus cases.
There are many people throughout the Capitol without masks and little social distancing.”
Several members of Congress have tested positive for COVID-19 after the riots.
New Jersey Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman said on January 11 that she tested positive for the coronavirus.
Her office issued a statement saying that Coleman believed she contracted the virus while being forced to stay in a safe room during congressional riots.
According to several news media reports, many legislators gathered in the safe room did not wear masks.
The attending physician at the Capitol has warned that a large number of members of Congress gathered in safe rooms are at risk of being exposed to the novel coronavirus.
