After the president’s inauguration, hundreds of soldiers were housed in a parking garage with no heating or proper toilet facilities.
In the days leading up to Joe Biden’s inauguration as president, more than 20,000 troops from the US National Guard took over Washington DC
Here they were to keep the peace, while politicians and superstars like Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez celebrated the inauguration of the new president.
But even though the deployment was quite peaceful, the troops still put their health in jeopardy.
On Friday, an official told Reuters news agency that between 150 and 200 of the National Guard’s soldiers in Washington have so far been tested positive for coronavirus.
At the same time, criticism has hailed that soldiers have had to live close together under unhygienic conditions in the US capital.
– We feel incredibly betrayed
While the National Guard emphasizes that all soldiers follow the guidelines of the US health authorities, several of the soldiers believe, according to Politico , that their living conditions pose a risk of infection.
The troops were initially housed in the Congress building. But after the deployment, hundreds of them were moved to a parking garage when U.S. politicians returned to work.
