Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
While Guarding The Capitol, Nearly 200 Infected By Covid
CBS News: 38 Capitol Police Officers And 150 National Guard Members Have Tested Positive For COVID-19 Since Capitol Attack
Thirty-eight members of the U.S. Capitol Police force and about 150 National Guard members have tested positive for COVID-19 since responding to the deadly attack on the Capitol earlier this month, officials told CBS News. Gus Papathanasiou, the chairman of the union that represents Capitol police, told CBS News that cases have "spiked" since the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol that brought the police in close quarters with the rioters. (Krawczyk, 1/22)
The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Contracted By Scores Of National Guard Members In Washington
Nearly 200 members of the National Guard deployed to Washington in the days leading up to Wednesday’s presidential inauguration have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, and some officials fear cramped rest and working quarters contributed to the spread, defense officials said. Approximately 26,000 Guard members from all 50 states, three territories and the District of Columbia were deployed following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol to secure the city through the Jan. 20 inauguration. (Youssef and Corse, 1/22)
Politico: ‘Packed Us Together Like Sardines’: Guard Deployed To Capitol Struggles To Contain Covid
The National Guard has struggled to implement a plan to test troops flowing into and out of Washington, D.C., for Covid-19, with some Guard members being forced to find their own tests and others pressured to leave their quarantine early to report to duty. Already, hundreds of Guard members who poured into Washington, D.C., after the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol have tested positive for Covid-19 or are quarantining in nearby hotels, three Guard sources said. Guard leadership has declined to release an official number of positive cases, but troops and lawmakers alike worry that the deployment is becoming a superspreader event. (Seligman, Desiderio and Bertrand, 1/22)
CNN: 38 Capitol Police Officers Test Positive For Covid-19 After Capitol Riot
More than three dozen Capitol Police officers have tested positive for coronavirus since the Capitol riot on January 6, the union representing the Capitol Police told CNN Sunday. It's unclear how many of the 38 officers may have been on duty during the attack or when they contracted the virus. But health officials have worried that the mass of largely unmasked people, many shouting and pushing, would result in the spread of the virus. Several police officers were directly assaulted during the insurrection. (Kounang and Wild, 1/24)
The Washington Post: Numerous Capitol Police Officers Who Responded To Riot Test Positive For Coronavirus
Since the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, 38 U.S. Capitol Police employees have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the head of the officers’ union said Saturday. Cases are also climbing among members of the D.C. National Guard stationed around the Capitol. ... “It’s mostly officers and supervisors, all sworn personnel” who have contracted the potentially deadly virus, [said Gus] Papathanasiou, the head of the labor committee for the Capitol Police officers’ Fraternal Order of Police chapter. “Who knows if it’s going to increase?” There were about 1,400 Capitol Police officers on duty. (Jackman, 1/23)
