BY: JULIA JACOBO, ABC NEWS
(WASHINGTON) — The attending physician to members of the U.S. Congress has advised lawmakers to get tested for COVID-19 due to possible exposure during the siege on the Capitol.
The potential exposure may have occurred when several members of the House and their staffers were in “protective isolation” in a large committee space for several hours with an individual who was infected with the virus, Dr. Brian P. Monahan wrote in a memo to lawmakers and staff Sunday.
Monahan reminded Capitol staff to continue wearing masks and practicing social distancing and recommended they obtain a COVID-19 test next week.
The riot on Capitol Hill could end up being a superspreader event, experts told ABC News.
However, public health officials will not know for weeks how many new COVID-19 cases are linked to the riot.
Thousands of pro-Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building Wednesday to protest the certification of President-elect Joe Biden by Congress.
Many of the rioters came directly from President Donald Trump’s “Save America” rally, held near the White House, where the president incited his followers to march to the Capitol.
ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos and Benjamin Siegel contributed to this report.
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