From the past few days, there have been mass protests across America. While they are being done to make voices heard, there is a huge risk of increasing coronavirus risk.
The rate of COVID-19 cases in Michigan has been rising and so are the crowds protesting against brutality following George Floyd’s death. While protests are important there is little or no chance of maintaining social distancing.
The Sparrow Lab Medical Director, James Richard, said that when people are together in groups there is a possible health hazard that follows. Be it a protest or a family event, large crowds are a potential coronavirus risk right now. The state health officials said that protests can lead to risks of infection for both participants and authorities.
Ingham County Health Officer, Linda Vail, said that many people were wearing masks while many were not. That is one thing that puts many people at risk. Just the way people who were protesting against stay at home orders were asked to get tested, people on the streets protesting now need to get tested too.
Protest are potential coronavirus risk
The incubation period of the virus is around 14 days and five at an average. Thus, it would take around seven to 10 days for tests to show results after being a part of a large event. However, if people have symptoms before that, they must test immediately.
The health officials said that they promote testing before time. According to Sparrow, there is a current preparation going on for an increase of both coronavirus and antibody tests. Richard stated that they cannot exactly say how much, but the health department is keeping a check on the potential rise of COVID cases.
There are concerns of an uptick in the activity and that was the same for other protests as well. They are waiting to see if this will become the next problem now. Health officials also stated that they’re not against protests. However, they wouldn’t recommend people to go out without masks. They also ask people to wash their hands regularly and maintain distance as much as possible.
