Was Wednesday's Storming of the Capitol a Superspreader Event?
- fionacsweet
- Jan 10, 2021
- 1 min read
The short answer here is yes.
It makes sense. Thousands of Trump supporters breaking into an enclosed space all without masks and jostling all together does not make for a safe event. In fact, quite the opposite; it has all the markers of a superspreader event.
According to Eric Toner, senior scholar at the John Hopkins Center for Health Security, "there will be a fair amount of disease that comes from it."
The resulting infections from the insurrection will also be difficult to track, as the people present came from all different areas of the United States, and many have still not been detained or identified. Those same people are on planes back to their home towns, where they will most likely continue to protest wearing masks in public, posing a threat to the people around them.
In addition, a Capitol physician has said that lawmakers may have been exposed to the virus during the riot lockdown. He advised members to keep up their usual "daily coronavirus risk reduction measures" such as social distancing and symptoms checks. They should also get tested for the virus next week as a precaution.
A hearing room where many members of the House were sheltering in featured inconsistent mask-wearing and social distancing. Videos posted of this room on social media show several members of Congress without masks.
And there you have it - because the insurrection last Wednesday didn't have enough negative effects, here are some more. All we can do now is wait to see the results and hope that this event doesn't affect case loads too greatly.
Have a good start to your week!
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