38 Capitol police officers tested positive for Covid-19 after the riot at the Capitol

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It is not known how many of the 38 officers may have been on duty during the attack or when they contracted the virus. But health officials fear the widely unmasked mass of people, many of whom are screaming and pushing, will cause the virus to spread. Several police officers were directly attacked during the uprising.

On Friday, 19 Capitol Hill police officers had tested positive in the more than two weeks since the attack, Gus Papathanasiou, chairman of the U.S. Capitol Police Labor Committee, told CNN in an email. The union was also unable to confirm that these officers were on duty on the day of the attack.

“I think you have to expect this to be another outbreak event. You had largely unmasked individuals in an undistarted manner, who were walking through the Capitol,” said the former director of US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Robert Redfield interviewed earlier this month with the McClatchy newspaper group.

Several lawmakers have tested positive in the aftermath of the attack, with some Democrats saying they tested positive after taking cover with other members of Congress who did not wear masks.

“Following the events of Wednesday, including taking refuge with several colleagues who refused to wear masks, I decided to take a Covid test. I tested positive,” tweeted New Jersey representative Bonnie Watson Coleman January 11.

A statement from her office said the congresswoman “is believed to have been exposed during protective solitary confinement at the US Capitol building following insurgency riots. As reported by multiple media outlets, a number of members of space ignored instructions to wear masks. “

CNN previously reported that six House Republicans were caught on video refusing masks offered by a colleague during the U.S. Capitol uprising.

Lawmakers and staff at the Capitol received a note from the Capitol Hill attending physician warning of a possible risk of exposure to Covid-19 after a large group of lawmakers were forced to assemble in a safe location during the violation of the US Capitol.

“On Wednesday January 6, many members of the House community were in protective isolation in (a) a room located in a large committee hearing space. The time spent in this room was several hours for some and more. brief for others. During this time, individuals may have been exposed to another occupant with coronavirus infection, “wrote Dr. Brian P. Monahan in the January 10 memo.

Clare Foran and Daniella Diaz contributed to this report.

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