[ad_1]
On January 6, pro-Trump rioters broke into the Capitol building in Washington, DC Prior to that, many members of the crowd attended a rally hosted by the president and gathered outside the Capitol. Numerous videos and photos of people on Capitol Hill have surfaced, often showing people without masks or masks and standing near other people also without masks. Some health experts believe this riot could be a very common occurrence for COVID-19.
Large mass gatherings are not always mass events. Many people came together in 2020 for Black Lives Matter safe protests, some events numbering in the thousands or tens of thousands. During protests, organizers often encouraged people to wear masks, and people who had mask supplies walked through the crowds to offer them to those who did not. Volunteers also distributed hand sanitizer to those who wanted it. Health experts believe there is no proof that Black Lives Matter events can be mass market events.
The riots at the Capitol are another story and they are visually noticeable. The events of yesterday could have been a very widespread event.
“It sure could be,” says Tara Smith, professor of epidemiology at Kent State University, in an email to Changing America. “From what I saw in pictures and video, you had a large congregation of individuals who were in close contact for a long time and almost universally unmasked. I saw many photos of people coming and going on buses as well, also unmasked, and hanging out in hotel lobbies. “
Scenes at the Capitol suggest many people there did not follow public health guidelines.
“Many rioters were screaming, not wearing masks, and there was little to no social distancing – all actions that allow COVID to spread easily. It is possible that this is a very widespread event, ”says infectious disease epidemiologist Beth Linas in an email to Changing America. “More concerning is that many of the rioters were not from DC and likely returned home and could bring COVID with them (and they could have brought it to DC as well).”
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CORONAVIRUS NOW
A NEW CORONAVIRUS VARIANT IN THE UK: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
FROM LAB BENCH TO UPPER ARM: HOW COVID-19 VACCINES HAVE BEEN
OVER A MILLION AMERICAN CHILDREN DIAGNOSED WITH COVID-19: REPORT
HOW TO COMPARE COVID-19 VACCINES FROM ASTRAZENECA, MODERNA AND PFIZER
If rioters now return to their homes across the county, they could bring the coronavirus with them.
“If only a few percent of them are positive for the virus, it could lead to massive spread, as we’ve seen with other events like the Sturgis Rally,” says Smith. The Sturgis Rally was a mass motorcycle event that took place over the summer in South Dakota. The event lasted for 10 days and led to at least 51 primary cases and 21 secondary cases in neighboring Minnesota, according to the Centers for Disaster Control and Prevention (CDC). These may not be all cases related to the Sturgis event as it only represents data from one state and cases may be underreported.
Our country is in a historic fight against the Coronavirus. Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter to stay up to date with the news.
However, most of the rioters were outside, which may have prevented the transmission of some diseases.
“We have never seen convincing evidence of an increase in the number of cases after the [Black Lives Matter] protests during the summer. Based on this, I am skeptical that yesterday’s events will be a major factor in the growing transmission that we will likely see in the coming weeks due to the holidays and other social gatherings, ”says Jennifer Nuzzo, associate professor at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, in an email to Changing America. “That said, the summer protests were held outdoors, most participants wore masks and the number of cases in the United States was lower than now. This could therefore increase the risk of transmission that occurred yesterday. “
No one can say for sure if yesterday’s events were a big-ticket event, but it could very well be. “Thousands of protesters gathering on the United States Capitol as more Americans die each day from COVID-19 than at any time during the pandemic, undermine public health efforts to slow the spread of the virus, “said physician Seema Yasmin in an email to Changing America. “Many protesters at the United States Capitol and similar protests on the California State Capitol and elsewhere did not wear masks when they gathered in large numbers and shouting in the face of law enforcement officers. They are endangering the health of these officers and others around them. “
For up-to-date information on COVID-19, visit the websites of the Centers for Disaster Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. To know the overall number of updated cases, see this page maintained by Johns Hopkins University or the COVID monitoring project.
You can follow Chia-Yi Hou on Twitter.
READ MORE LIKE THIS FROM CHANGING AMERICA
MY HOPES FOR THE AUTISM SPECTRUM COMMUNITY IN 2021
WE ARE NOW BUILDING A GIANT BIKE TRACK THAT WILL GO SIDE BY SIDE
WHAT EXPERTS ARE SAYING ABOUT VACCINATION EFFORTS
CDC OFFICIALS KEEP COVID-19 VACCINE SAFE DESPITE ADVERSE REACTIONS
[ad_2]
Source link