The perilous choice of protesting during coronavirus
Dear reader:
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听Thousands of Americans have marched in big cities in recent days to protest police brutality and years of law enforcement-related killings of African Americans.
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听In doing so, are they increasing the risk of a new wave of coronavirus outbreaks, by engaging in just the sort of mass gathering that health authorities have warned us to avoid as states slowly reopen from COVID-19 shutdowns?
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听This is not a comment on demonstrators鈥� purpose. Monitor writers have covered the meaning and historical context of the protest explosion in since they began.
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听But only weeks ago Americans congregating on beaches were getting shamed on social media. The crowds that have turned up in Washington, New York, Los Angeles, and other metropolises this week are big, and densely packed. Social distancing in that context is almost impossible 鈥� though masks are a help.
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听Dr. Anthony Fauci 鈥� probably the most famous epidemiologist in America 鈥� continues to warn against big public gatherings, though he has stopped short of talking about the George Floyd protests directly. In a June 2 interview with the Journal of the American Medical Association a questioner mentioned the protest context but Dr. Fauci shifted focus a bit in his response.
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听鈥淧ictures, photos, and TV clips of people very much congregated, no masks together, very closely congregated on a boardwalk, on a beach, in a pool, has been and continues to be a concern to me,鈥�
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听Some other health experts and politicians have said that systemic racism and police brutality are also public health threats and thus it is understandable that people have gone straight from lockdown to the streets.
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听If nothing else, this is a serious public health messaging challenge, on Twitter June 3. On the one hand, authorities have said for months to be as isolated as possible. On the other hand, suddenly it鈥檚 OK to go to mass events 鈥� but only certain ones.
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听The whole thing points out that instead of an all-or-nothing approach America may need a middle way to manage the risks inherent in living life during a pandemic.
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听鈥淭he bottom line is we just don鈥檛 know what the COVID-19 risks of these protests are yet. We will have a better idea in a few weeks,鈥� writes Ms. Khimm.
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听Let us know what you鈥檙e thinking at csmpolitics@csmonitor.com
