Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) Announced Tuesday that it tested positive for the coronavirus. This makes him the third House Democrat to test positive since last week’s storm on the Capitol. Schneider said he was housed in a room with other lawmakers for several hours, some of whom did not wear masks, and refused to take one when passed around. Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA) told Business Insider that she was locked in a room with 300 to 400 people and viewed it as a coronavirus super-spreader event.
“About half the people in the room don’t wear masks,” said Wild. “Even though they were offered surgical masks, they refuse to wear them.”
Wild added that many of the people who turned down masks were Republicans, especially those recently elected. Schneider supported Wild’s claims
“After narrowly escaping a violent mob instigated by the President of the United States to attack the Capitol and its inmates, I had to spend several hours in a safe but cramped place with dozens of other members of Congress,” Schneider said in one Explanation .
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, also announced that she tested positive for the coronavirus. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (DN.J.), an immunocompromised cancer survivor, also tested positive.
Brian Monahan, the attending physician for Congress, sent a letter to all members of Congress saying they should closely monitor their situation and get tested because at least one person who was with them had tested positive.
Additionally, it is likely that many of the thousands of pro-Trump protesters carried the virus, and many of them have been maskless for months and violate social distancing rules.
A bevy of lawmakers, including President Trump and his entire cabinet, have tested positive for the virus, but the majority were Republicans who, like Trump, refused to wear a mask or social distancing. Democrats, on the other hand, were quick to wear face masks and encourage social distancing. The coronavirus pandemic has infected more than 23.2 million Americans and more than 280,000 deaths.
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