George Floyd march was a ‘virus spreading event,’ health experts warn

HOUSTON - On Tuesday, Houston witnessed an end to social distancing when 60 thousand people marched shoulder-to-shoulder for George Floyd, raising concerns amongst local health experts about the spread of COVID-19.

The marches and rallies protesting the death of George Floyd are considered “virus spreading event,” said Dr. David Persse with the Houston Health Dept.

Houston health officials say we’ll find out in the coming weeks whether the march helped lead to the second wave of coronavirus COVID-19.

Thousands of people walked within inches of each other, shouting and holding hands—a prime recipe for the spread of coronavirus said Persse.

“Those are all things that the virus will take advantage of to spread from person to person,” said Persse. “Yelling and speaking loudly…you’re propelling, you’re projecting more moisture into the air, and in this case—if you’re infected—that moisture is laden with viruses.”

Amid the pandemic, he says demonstrators did a couple of things right.

“I was impressed with how many people were wearing masks, and I think that that is a testament to Houstonians,” said Persse.

Local leaders including Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo and rapper Trae tha Truth did not wear masks.

“Not wearing a mask yesterday—I kind of raised an eyebrow at,” said Persse.

“It is a concern,” said Dr. Sherri Onyiego, an epidemiologist with Harris County Public Health. “We certainly want to make sure that from a public health standpoint that we’re still talking about those preventative measures. If you’re sick, maybe it’s not a good idea to go out to the march.”

Onyiego is cautioning demonstrators about public protests—especially if they are in the high risk category—as Harris County Public Health data has shown a spike in coronavirus cases in recent days.

“Really think twice about maybe protesting in other ways aside from going in person,” said Onyiego. “Maybe doing some virtual displays or other ways to really support the cause.”

Dr. Persse says if you were out in the march you may want to think about quarantining yourself to some degree.

Dr. Onyiego says symptoms will take 2-to-14 days to show up, and 20 percent of people will never show symptoms. They are the silent carriers