‘A Superspreader Event on Top of a Domestic Terrorist Attack’
During last week’s insurrection that forced Members of Congress to hide in close quarters, some even crouching together to hide from President Donald Trump’s insurrectionists, Republican lawmakers were begged to wear masks but refused.
Now three Democrats have tested positive for COVID-19, the third announcing minutes ago his diagnosis.
“I am now in strict isolation, worried that I have risked my wife’s health and angry at the selfishness and arrogance of the anti-maskers,” says Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL).
Overnight Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) tested positive. On Monday Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) also tested positive.
All three were in lockdown with GOP lawmakers.
“We can no longer tolerate Members coming to the floor,” Rep. Schneider added in a statement, “without doing the bare minimum to protect those around them. Those that flout public health guidance should be sanctioned and immediately removed from the House floor by the Sergeant at Arms.”
Up until this week 40 Republicans and 13 Democrats in the House and Senate had tested positive for COVID-19. The count is now 16 and 40.
“Too many Republicans have refused to take this pandemic and virus seriously, and in doing so, they endanger everyone around them,” Jayapal said in a statement, NBC News reported. “Only hours after President Trump incited a deadly assault on our Capitol, our country, and our democracy, many Republicans still refused to take the bare minimum COVID-19 precaution and simply wear a damn mask in a crowded room during a pandemic — creating a superspreader event on top of a domestic terrorist attack.”
“This is not a joke,” she added. “Our lives and our livelihoods are at risk, and anyone who refuses to wear a mask should be fully held accountable for endangering our lives because of their selfish idiocy.”