How the Trump-incited crowd sparked a COVID super-broadcaster event

Yesterday’s shameful and violent insurgency will be one of the darkest moments in American history. But it could also be another dark spot in the ongoing pandemic, which – in case you are distracted – continues to spread uncontrollably and devastate much of the country.

As seditionists entered the United States Capitol building on Wednesday, health officials across the country recorded more than 243,000 new cases of COVID-19. Hospitals have identified nearly 132,500 patients with COVID-19 in their beds. And at least 3,793 Americans have lost their lives to the pandemic virus. With the disease outbreak, more than 21 million people in the United States have been infected and more than 352,000 loved ones have died.

Fuel on Hell

The pandemic did not stop Wednesday for those in the District of Columbia. As in many places, Washington has seen an increase in cases and deaths during the winter recess. During the president’s insurgency, the capital reported 316 new cases – a large increase from the seven-day moving average of 86 new cases per day recorded on November 1. There were also five new deaths on Wednesday, up from an average on November 1. Overall, the city of over 700,000 residents has reported a total of nearly 30,500 cases and more than 800 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Yesterday’s event will only support the current rise in Washington and elsewhere. Thousands of Trump supporters have gathered nearby to listen to the lame president and others encourage sedition. Many in the crowd were not wearing masks. And, despite being outside, being huddled in a dense crowd without a mask for an extended period certainly creates the opportunity for the pandemic coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, to easily spread among people, in infecting some and ensuring the survival of the pandemic.

Being outdoors is often seen as inherently safe, but that’s only safer. The large, agitated outside air can more easily disperse respiratory droplets containing the virus that float or shoot out of the face of an infected person. This contrasts with crowded and / or poorly ventilated indoor spaces where the droplets are less likely to be washed away, possibly allowing them to accumulate at higher concentrations, increasing the risk of infection for those. that are in space. We still don’t know the exact amount of virus particles needed to infect a person, but higher concentrations are absolutely risky.

Transmission risks

Still, being outside doesn’t mean the virus can’t spread, especially when people without masks are crammed into a dense, stationary crowd. Being outdoors or in a well-ventilated space are just single layers in the multi-layered approach needed to reduce the risk of the virus spreading. People, even outdoors, should wear masks, stay physically distant, avoid crowded areas, and practice good hand hygiene. This was certainly not the case at Trump’s rally yesterday, just as it was not at previous rallies, which have also been linked to a massive spread of the virus.

Increasing the risks further, Trump supporters openly scoffed at and rebelled against public health measures and the realities of the pandemic as they gathered in the city on the eve of Wednesday’s events. During a protest on Tuesday, a Trump supporter urged people to actively try to spread the disease, urging them to kiss people outside their home: “I’m going to give everyone three action steps … turn to the person next to you and give them a hug,” one speaker told a crowd. “Someone you don’t know… this is a mass market event! This is a mass market event!”

While the “close contact” associated with the spread of COVID-19 is often defined as being within 6 feet of someone for 15 minutes or more, nothing magical happens within 6 feet or 15 minutes. These are just rules of thumb for assessing risk. People can become infected in shorter time frames or even over slightly longer distances, depending on the nature of the interaction and how infectious an infected person is at the time. As such, public health experts generally advise against hugs.

“It’s horrible to think that we would be here when the World Health Organization is telling people ‘Don’t kiss each other’,” Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO emergency program, said during ‘a press briefing last month. “It’s terrible. But it’s the brutal reality in places like the United States right now.”

Threat to lawmakers

When hundreds of insurgents entered the Capitol building, the heightened risks spread among lawmakers and their staff. As chaos, violence and looting ensued, lawmakers and staff attempted to rush to safety. Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.) Described for CBS News – when she was evacuated after shots were fired from inside the building – being moved to a crowded and undisclosed location with 300 to 400 evacuated. His fears then shifted from violence to coronavirus. “This is what I would call a COVID superspreader event,” Wild said.

“About half of the people in the room are not wearing masks even though they were offered surgical masks, they refused to wear them. She identified the unmasked crowd as “people from the Republican delegation … some of the new members who are in freshmen this year are openly displaying that they will not wear a mask and refuse to put on a mask … C this is exactly the kind of situation the doctors told us not to be in. “

She added that members of Congress were not required to be tested regularly for COVID-19, but that tests were available to them. As of yesterday, at least two members of Congress have announced that they have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Rep. Jake LaTurner (R-Kan.) Tested positive Wednesday night, according to a tweet Thursday from his verified account. Representative Michelle Steel (R-Calif.) Also announced that she had tested positive. Steel, who was sworn in on Sunday, had expressed skepticism about the need for mask warrants.

Since the start of the pandemic, dozens of federal lawmakers and hundreds of their employees have contracted the virus, and many more have been exposed and quarantined. On December 29, MP-elect Luke Letlow (R-La.) Died of COVID-19 at the age of 41.