Capitol lockdown may have exposed members of the House to Covid-19 when they went into hiding during the U.S. riots on Wednesday.
Capitol, Congress's attending doctor, wrote Sunday in a letter to representatives and workers.
"Many members of the House community were also in the protective isolation. A room located in a large committee hearing space," Dr. Brian Monahan said, adding, "During this time," then continue" individuals may also have been exposed to another occupant with coronavirus infection."
He urged members to maintain their "usual daily coronavirus risk reduction measures, "He also emphasizes social distance and symptom tests. He said that as a precaution, they should also get screened for the virus.
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Many, but not all, Congress members have already received at least the first of two doses of vaccines against coronavirus since being made available to them just before Christmas after the capitol lockdown. A Vaccine was also then provided to individual congressional workers.
Most of the lawmakers present in the meeting during the capitol lockdown are wearing no masks. The news of lawmakers possibly exposed to the virus comes amid concerns that Wednesday's riots could become a significant super-spreader event.
Some Congress members huddled in the large room for hours, while others were there for a shorter time.
While during the capitol lockdown, Monahan did not specify how big the group of lawmakers was and who was in the room, the Post clarified to two house aides that he was referring to a room seen on Friday in a video posted by Punchbowl News.
After a video surfaced of Republican lawmakers not wearing their masks in the room during the capitol lockdown, some lawmakers and staff were angry.
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Among those Republicans not wearing masks was newly elected Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a presidential ally affiliated with a pro-Trump conspiracy party.
Republican Reps. Andy Biggs, Michael Cloud, Markwayne Mullin, and Scott Perry refused to put Democratic Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester's face masks on them in the video.
While on the other hand, after protesters against the Electoral College violated the Capitol building members of Congress wen immediately rushed to safe places.
Just hours after Congress members reassembled to ratify the outcome of the 2020 presidential election from the Electoral College, the newly elected U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner announced that COVID-19 had tested positive.
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According to GovTrack, over 100 of the nation's lawmakers have had to quarantine after the pandemic's start due to testing positive or coming into touch with someone who tested positive for COVID-19.
Even as vaccines are starting to become available, the Covid-19 pandemic is still raging through the United States. There've been over 22 million confirmed cases and more than 373,000 deaths in the U.S. so far.
According to an NBC News count earlier, more than 50 Congress members tested positive for the virus.
