Coronavirus Pandemic

NJ Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman says she caught COVID-19 during Capitol riot from unmasked colleagues

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman says she caught COVID-19 from other House members during the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.

NBC10

January 11, 2021

U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-NJ, delivers remarks during a rally in support of the national Women's March on Washington during a gathering at Patriots Theater at the War Memorial, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017, in Trenton, N.J. The march was held in in conjunction with with similar events taking place around the nation following the inauguration of President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

This story originally appeared on NBC10.

A New Jersey congresswoman tested positive for COVID-19, and she believes she was infected during the Capitol riots last week by other House members not wearing masks.

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, a Democrat who represents New Jersey’s state capital Trenton and surrounding areas, said she had a positive rapid test Monday.

“She believes she was exposed during protective isolation in the U.S. Capitol building as a result of insurrectionist riots,” her office said in a statement. “As reported by multiple news outlets, a number of members within the space ignored instructions to wear masks.”

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Watson Coleman said she has cold-like symptoms but feels well otherwise. She had already received one dose of Pfizer’s vaccine, her office added.

Public health officials started raising the alarm even while the riot was still happening about the possibility that so many people gathered in such close quarters could lead to a new outbreak. Watson Coleman is one of the first members of Congress to get sick since.

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