TWO AMERICAN LAWMAKERS TEST POSITIVE FOR COVID-19 AFTER CAPITOL RIOT

WASHINGTON: Two members of the US Congress have tested positive for the coronavirus, with one on Tuesday accusing Republicans of refusing to wear masks and mocking those who did during a riot at the legislature last week.

In a tweet, Democratic Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal said she had taken a test after being trapped in a secure room with fellow lawmakers, and that she has tested positive.

“Many Republicans still refused to take the bare minimum Covid-19 precaution and simply wear a damn mask in a crowded room during a pandemic - creating a superspreader event on top of a domestic terrorist attack,” said Jayapal, who is self-isolating.

“The duration in the room was multiple hours and several Republicans not only cruelly refused to wear a mask but mocked colleagues and staff who offered them one,” she added.

Hours earlier, fellow Democratic congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman said she too had contracted the coronavirus disease and that she believed she had been exposed to it during last week’s violence. “She believes she was exposed during protective isolation in the US Capitol building as a result of insurrectionist riots,” her office said in a statement.

Manatee in Florida had ‘Trump’ drawn on back

Wildlife officials are investigating reports of a manatee found with “Trump” drawn on its back in a Florida river. The aquatic mammal was spotted over the weekend in the Homosassa River in Citrus County, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said. The area is about 130km north of Tampa.

The manatee does not appear to be seriously injured, officials said. It appears that the word was written in algae that had grown on the animals back, not scratched into its skin.