Yesterday’s violent and shameful revolt will be one of the darkest moments in American history. But it could also be another dark spot in the ongoing pandemic, which – if you get distracted – is still spreading out of control and devastating much of the country.
As seditionists entered the United States Capitol building on Wednesday, health officials across the country registered more than 243,000 new cases of COVID-19. The hospitals registered almost 132,500 COVID-19 patients in their beds. And at least 3,793 Americans lost their lives to the pandemic virus. With disease outbreaks, more than 21 million people in the United States have been infected and more than 352,000 loved ones have died.
Fuel in Hell
The pandemic did not stop for residents of the District of Columbia on Wednesday. Like many places, Washington saw an increase in cases and deaths during the winter holidays. During the president’s insurrection, the capital registered 316 new cases – a sharp increase from the seven-day average of 86 new cases registered on November 1. There were also five new deaths on Wednesday, compared to an average of one on November 1. Overall, the city of more than 700,000 has reported a total of almost 30,500 cases and more than 800 deaths since the pandemic began.
Yesterday’s event will only help to sustain the current rise in DC and elsewhere. Thousands of Trump supporters gathered nearby to hear President Lame Duck and others encouraged sedition. Many in the crowd did not wear masks. And although they were outside, being huddled in a dense, unmasked crowd for an extended time certainly creates the opportunity for the pandemic coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, to float easily between people, infecting some and ensuring the survival of the pandemic.
Being outdoors is often seen as inherently safe, but it is only safer. The vast, choppy outside air can more easily disperse any respiratory droplets with viruses that float or shoot from an infected person’s face. This is in contrast to crowded and / or poorly ventilated indoor spaces, where there is less chance that the drops will be taken away, possibly allowing them to accumulate in higher concentrations, increasing the risk of infection for those in the space. We still don’t know the exact amount of virus particles needed to infect a person, but higher concentrations are absolutely more risky.
Transmission risks
Still, being outside does not mean that the virus cannot spread, especially when people without a mask are huddled in a dense, stationary crowd. Being outdoors or in a well-ventilated space are just layers in the multi-layered approach needed to reduce the risk of spreading the virus. People, even outdoors, should wear masks, keep physically away, avoid crowded areas and practice good hand hygiene. That was certainly not the case at Trump’s rally yesterday, nor was it the case at previous rallies, which were also associated with the mass spread of the virus.
Further increasing the risks, Trump supporters openly mocked and rebelled against public health measures and the realities of the pandemic as they gathered in the city during the race for Wednesday’s events. In a protest on Tuesday, a Trump supporter encouraged people to actively try to spread disease by encouraging them hug people outside their homes: “I’m going to give everyone three action steps … turn to the person next to you and give them a hug,” said a speaker to a crowd. “Someone you don’t know … it’s a mass dissemination event! It’s a mass dissemination event!”
Although the “close contact” linked to the spread of COVID-19 is often defined as being at 6 feet from someone for 15 minutes or more, nothing magical happens at the 6-foot point or at the 15-minute mark. These are simply practical rules for assessing risk. People can be infected at shorter intervals or even slightly longer distances, depending on the nature of the interaction and the infectivity of the person currently infected. Thus, public health experts generally advise against embracing.
“It is a horrible thing to think that we would be here as the World Health Organization telling people ‘Don’t hug’,” said Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO emergency program, at a news conference last month. “It’s terrible. But that is the brutal reality in places like the United States now.”
Threat to lawmakers
When hundreds of rebels stormed the Capitol building, the increased risks spread among lawmakers and their officials. As chaos, violence and looting ensued, lawmakers and officials tried to escape to safety. Deputy Susan Wild (D-Pa.) Described for the CBS news – when she was evacuated after shots were fired inside the building – being moved to a crowded and undisclosed location with 300 to 400 homeless. His fears then shifted from violence to the coronavirus. “It’s what I would call a COVID superspring event,” said Wild.
“About half of the people in the room are not wearing masks, although they were given surgical masks, they refused to wear them.” She identified the unmasked crowd as some “people from the Republican delegation … some of the younger members who are freshmen this year are openly saying they won’t be wearing masks and refusing to put them on … It’s exactly the type of situation that the doctors told us not to go in. “
She added that members of Congress were not required to take regular tests for COVID-19, but the test was available to them. Since yesterday, at least two members of Congress have announced that they have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Rep. Jake LaTurner (R-Kan.) Received a positive test on Wednesday night, according to a tweet from Thursday from your verified account. Congresswoman Michelle Steel (R-Calif.) Also announced that her test was positive. Steel, who took office on Sunday, expressed skepticism about the need for mask mandates.
Since the pandemic began, dozens of federal lawmakers and hundreds of their employees have contracted the virus, and many more have been exposed and quarantined. On December 29, elected congressman Luke Letlow (R-La.) Died of COVID-19 at the age of 41.