On January 6, pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol building in Washington, DC. For that, many people in the crowd attended a rally of the president and gathered outside the Capitol. Many videos and photos of the people at the Capitol surfaced, regularly showing people without masks or face masks standing in the vicinity of others who were also maskless. Some health experts believe that this riot could be a spreader for COVID-19.
Large mass gatherings are not always events in the super-distributor. Many people gathered in 2020 for Black Lives Matter protest safely, some events count in the thousands or tens of thousands. At the protests, organizers often encouraged people to wear masks, and people who had mask supplies went through the crowd to offer them to those outside. Volunteers also handed out hand sanitizers to those who wanted them. Health experts believe there is no evidence that the Black Lives Matter events could possibly be superspreader events.
The riots at the Capitol are a different story and can be seen visually. The events yesterday could have been a superspreader event.
“It can certainly be,” said Tara Smith, a professor of epidemiology at Kent State University, in an email to Changing America. ‘According to my photos and videos, you had a large group of individuals who were in close contact for a long time and were almost universally unmasked. I have seen many photos of individuals also going by bus and also unmasking and hanging out in hotel lobbies. ”
According to the scenes at the Capitol, many people there did not follow the guidelines for public health.
‘Many rioters shouted and did not wear masks, and there was little or no social distance – all that COVID could easily spread. It is possible that it could be a superspreader event, ‘said epidemiologist Beth Linas in an email to Changing America. “More worrying is that many rioters were not from DC and would probably go home and bring COVID along (and they could have brought it to DC as well).”
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If the rioters now return to their homes in the country, they can bring the coronavirus with them.
“If only a few percent of it is positive for the virus, it can lead to a significant amount of spread, as we’ve seen with other events like the Sturgis rally,” Smith said. The Sturgis rally was a major motorcycle rally held during the summer in South Dakota. The event lasted ten days and, according to SU, resulted in at least 51 primary cases and 21 secondary cases in nearby Minnesota. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These may not be all the cases related to the Sturgis event, as they represent only one state’s data, and that the cases may not be reported enough.
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However, most rioters were outdoors, and this may have prevented the transmission of diseases.
‘We have never seen compelling evidence that an increase in cases following the [Black Lives Matter] protests over the summer. Based on this, I am skeptical that yesterday’s events will have a significant impact on the increasing spread that we are likely to see in the coming weeks due to holidays and other social gatherings, “said Jennifer Nuzzo, an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, in an email to Changing America. “That said, the protests this summer were outdoors, most participants wore masks and U.S. numbers were lower than now. transfer that took place yesterday increases. “
No one can say with certainty whether yesterday’s events were a superspreader event, but it may turn out to be very good. “Thousands of protesters rally in the U.S. Capitol as more Americans die from COVID-19 each day than ever before during the pandemic jeopardizes public health efforts to slow the spread of the virus, ‘said Dr. Seema Yasmin. an email to Changing America. ‘Many protesters at the U.S. Capitol and similar protests at the Capitol in California and elsewhere did not wear masks as they gathered in large numbers and shouted in the faces of law enforcement. This endangers the health of the officers and others around them. ‘
For updated information on COVID-19, visit the websites of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. For updated global case counts, visit this page provided by Johns Hopkins University or the COVID tracking project.
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