Richard Luscombe has news about concern among leaders that the protests over the last few days may lead to a surge in cases of Covid-19.
A growing number of governors, mayors and public health officials across the US are raising fears of a surge in coronavirus cases from escalating protests over the death of George Floyd.
Images of demonstrators in close proximity, many without masks, in numerous cities have alarmed leaders to the point where some are pleading with those on the streets to protest “the right way” to better protect themselves.
“I’m concerned that we had mass gatherings on our streets when we just lifted a stay at home order and what that could mean for spikes in coronavirus cases later,” Muriel Bowser, the mayor of Washington DC, said in a press conference on Sunday.
Bowser said protests in her city, which has seen violence several days in a row at the White House and other areas, were a mixed bag.
“While I saw some people with masks last night, others didn’t,” she said. “I saw some people social distancing, other people were right on top of each other. So we don’t want to compound this deadly virus and the impact it’s had on our community.”
The message was echoed by Keisha Lance-Bottoms, the mayor of Atlanta, who said she was “extremely concerned” about Covid-19 spreading, and that protests had distracted her from dealing with the pandemic.
“I realised that I hadn’t looked at our coronavirus numbers in two days,” she told Jake Tapper, host of CNN’s State of the Union. “And that’s frightening, because it’s a pandemic, and people of color are getting hit harder.”
According to the Georgia department of health, more African Americans have contracted Covid-19 statewide than any other race.
“The question is how do we do protesting safely?” Dr Ashish Jha, director of the global health institute at Harvard’s T H Chan school of public health told CNN. “I think masks are a critical part of it.”
In New York, governor Andrew Cuomo reported 56 new coronavirus deaths statewide, the lowest number since 23 March. He did not express fears for a resurgence of the virus as a result of the protests, but figured the lockdown was a contributory factor for them.
“It’s not a coincidence the unrest happens in the midst of a pandemic,” Cuomo said at his daily press briefing. “People have lost their jobs. They are isolated at home. People are stressed and worried. It is all of that.”
Meanwhile, Dr Theodore Long, who is leading New York City’s contact tracing strategy, offered advice to demonstrators.
“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,” he said.
