Public health experts are certain protests that took place across the United States over the last several days will lead to a surge in coronavirus cases. But many of those experts still believe the demonstrations against police brutality are necessary, The Atlantic reports. Maimuna Majumder, a computational epidemiologist at Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, points out that, after all, "structural racism has been a public health crisis for much longer than the pandemic has."
In the end, these experts agree people attending the protests should wear masks and take whatever precautions they can to stay safe, but Alexandra Phelan, a professor of global health law at Georgetown University, notes law enforcement should also change their tactics. She argues responsibility for preventing the spread of the coronavirus ultimately falls on the government, not the protesters. "The state is the one with the duty to protect public health," she said.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Weinstein convicted of sex crime in retrialSpeed Read The New York jury delivered a mixed and partial verdict at the disgraced Hollywood producer's retrial
-
'King of the Hill' actor shot dead outside homespeed read Jonathan Joss was fatally shot by a neighbor who was 'yelling violent homophobic slurs,' says his husband
-
DOJ, Boulder police outline attacker's confessionspeed read Mohamed Sabry Soliman planned the attack for a year and 'wanted them all to die'
-
Assailant burns Jewish pedestrians in Boulderspeed read Eight people from the Jewish group were hospitalized after a man threw Molotov cocktails in a 'targeted act of violence'
-
Driver rams van into crowd at Liverpool FC paradespeed read 27 people were hospitalized following the attack
-
2 Israel Embassy staff shot dead at DC Jewish museumspeed read The suspected gunman chanted 'free, free Palestine'
-
Bombing of fertility clinic blamed on 'antinatalist'speed read A car bombing injured four people and damaged a fertility clinic and nearby buildings in Palm Springs, California
-
Suspect charged after 11 die in Vancouver car attackSpeed Read Kai-Ji Adam Lo drove an SUV into a crowd at the Lapu Lapu Day festival
