As thousands of people poured into the streets around the country to protest the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, a microscopic menace was almost certainly there too, eager to propagate and spread through the jostling and shouting crowds that gathered for hours on end, day after day.
It’s a scenario that would seemingly give health officials trying to quell the worst pandemic in a century heartburn and distress. But in fact, a sizable contingent of medical professionals across the country have defended — and even encouraged — the enormous gatherings as a vital response to systemic racial disparities and police brutality in America...
Jonathan Samet, dean of the Colorado School of Public Health, said while protesting during a pandemic is not optimum timing, people can’t choose the moment when an officer-involved killing will trigger anger and rage. Several medical students and residents from the school signed the letter praising the recent protests.
“People want to make their voices heard at this moment,” he said. “I’m not going to urge people not to gather. But I would not say these protests are risk-free. It’s an individual decision.”
Read the full story at the Denver Post.