SOME SOURCES:Quote
Research Determines Protests Did Not Cause Spike In Coronavirus Cases[
www.forbes.com]
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Black Lives Matter protests did not cause an uptick in covid-19 cases[
www.economist.com]
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What Minnesota’s Protests Are Revealing About Covid-19 SpreadAfter George Floyd’s killing, experts warned that demonstrations could set off new waves of infections. But early testing in Minneapolis tells another story.[
www.wired.com]
SOME QUOTATIONS FROM THOSE SOURCES:Quote
Dr. Monique Tello, clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School
we now have data showing that the COVID-19 infection rate among protesters has been remarkably low....A recent study of contact tracing for new infections showed that most transmissions occurred between people interacting indoors for 15 minutes or more. Analysis of 28 COVID-19 “superspreading events” around the globe revealed commonalities: all were indoors, and involved people without masks talking face-to-face, singing, or sharing a meal.
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“For the most part, we’re not going to see a big increase [in cases] because people are wearing masks and they’re being held outside,” said Dr. Eric Bing, professor of global health at Southern Methodist University.
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Dr. Philip Huang, the director of Dallas County Health and Human Services...it’s unlikely the protests alone caused Dallas County’s infections to skyrocket, Huang said.
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, the National Bureau of Economic Research released a study that debunks the notion that the demonstrations would deliver a deluge of cases. Its authors found “no evidence that urban protests reignited COVID-19 case growth” in the 315 U.S. cities they surveyed. In part, this is because protesters were vigilant in wearing masks, the authors state.
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Dr. Joseph Chang, chief medical officer at Parkland Health & Hospital System: " When two people wear masks standing next to one another, the chance of transmissibility is less than 1%".
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Protests against systemic racism held in 300-plus U.S. cities following the death of George Floyd did not cause a significant increase in coronavirus infections, according to a team of economists who have published their findings in a 60-page paper released by the National Bureau of Economic Research; these somewhat surprising results are supported by Covid-19 testing data in many populous cities where demonstrations were held.
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Florida does extensive contact tracing to figure out where people who tested positive have been before they got sick. And the state’s health experts are finding a clear pattern -- it’s not leading back to the outdoor protests; it’s leading to indoor places where young adults go to hang out and party.
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Of the 3,200 people tested so far at the four popup sites across the metro, 1.8 percent have tested positive for Covid-19, says s Kristen Ehresmann, the Minnesota Department of Health director of infectious disease.. HealthPartners, one of the largest health care providers in Minnesota, also reported to the state that it had tested about 8,500 people who indicated that attendance at a mass gathering was the reason they wanted a test. Among them, 0.99 percent tested positive. These numbers have been one of the few pleasant surprises since the outbreak began, says Ehresmann. “Right now, with the data available to us, it appears there was very little transmission at protest events,” she says.
