Experts fear large George Floyd protests across the nation could lead to new coronavirus outbreaks
EXPERTS fear that large George Floyd protests across the United States could lead to new outbreaks of the coronavirus.
Large groups of demonstrators have been gathering across the nation to protest the death of the 46-year-old who died after white cop Derek Chauvin was filmed kneeling on his neck during an arrest.
In Atlanta, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms told CNN that she was worried about the protests could lead to an increase in COVID-19 infections in communities of color, who she noted have been “hit harder.”
Bottoms said: “I’m extremely concerned when we are seeing mass gatherings.
“…We’re going to see the other side of this in a couple of weeks.”
The Mayor has also urged protesters to get tested for the infection.
Larry Hogan, the Governor of Maryland, also told CNN that the protests could cause a spike.
“There’s no question that when you put a hundred or thousands of people together in close proximity when we’ve got this virus all over the streets, it’s not healthy.
“… Two weeks from now across America we’re going to find out whether or not this gives us a spike and drives the numbers back up.”
Dr Scott Gottlieb, the former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, told CBS that Minnesota had seen a rise in cases before the protests and predicted this would only go up.
“This country isn’t through this epidemic. This is continuing to expand, but at a much slower rate, but it’s still expanding.”
Dr Theodore Long, who is leading New York City’s contact tracing efforts, also urged protesters to get tested for the coronavirus.
“We strongly encourage anybody who is out in the protests to wear a mask, practice proper hand hygiene and to the extent possible, socially distance, though we know that’s not always going to be feasible,” the doctor said, according to the New York Times.
Across the United States demonstrators have been protesting against the death of George Floyd for five nights, despite the country still being in a pandemic.
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Melanie Campbell, president of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, said, according to USAToday: “Black people are risking their lives protesting in the middle of a pandemic that’s killing black folks. That’s real.
“There is no convenient time to fight back.”
The current coronavirus death toll in the country is 104,115, with at least 1,780,897 confirmed cases.