Washington, January 12: Pramila Jayapal, a member of the US House of Representatives said she contracted coronavirus after being huddled together during last week's Capitol riots with several Republican colleagues who "cruelly refused to wear a mask".

"I just received a positive COVID-19 test result after being locked down in a secured room at the Capitol where several Republicans not only cruelly refused to wear a mask but recklessly mocked colleagues and staff who offered them one," Jayapal said in a post on her official Twitter account. US Capitol Violence: Police Officer Injured During Violent Protests Dies.

Pramila Jayapal's Tweet

Earlier on Monday, US Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman said that she also contracted COVID-19 following possible exposure during the lockdown in the Capitol, Sputnik reported. Jayapal, who is a member of the Democratic Party, called for actions against congressmen who refuse to wear a mask in the Capitol.

"Any Member who refuses to wear a mask should be fully held accountable for endangering our lives because of their selfish idiocy. I'm calling for every single Member who refuses to wear a mask in the Capitol to be fined and removed from the floor by the Sergeant at Arms," she said in a post on Twitter.

It is unclear whether the two congresswomen were in the same room. Members of the House of Representatives and their staff received a memo from the attending physician on Sunday morning that said "many" of them "may have been exposed" to the coronavirus during the last week's riots in the Capitol.

A chaotic and violent scene erupted at the Capitol on Wednesday as supporters of Trump stormed the building to protest the Electoral College vote, forcing a lockdown and various confrontations with police.

The riots erupted when Congress was in session. The members and the staff were evacuated to secure locations as supporters of President Trump breached the Capitol and ransacked offices.

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