Expert: Protests may cause surge in COVID-19 cases скачать в хорошем качестве

Expert: Protests may cause surge in COVID-19 cases

(1 Jun 2020) The massive protests sweeping across U.S. cities following the police killing of a black man in Minnesota have sent shudders through the health community and elevated fears that the huge crowds will lead to a new surge in cases of the coronavirus. "The fact that they're outdoors removes one level of risk. But people are shouting. They are screaming. Emotions are running hot. I think people should gauge their individual risks," said Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and professor at George Washington University.   Some leaders appealing for calm in places where crowds smashed storefronts and destroyed police cars in recent nights have been handing out masks and warning demonstrators they were putting themselves at risk. Wen, who is also the former health commissioner of Baltimore, Maryland says in many of these protests, to physically social distance is difficult.  Therefore it is important to do things like wear a mask. "Certainly wearing a mask, wearing a cloth, covering a surgical mask, any type of facial covering, making sure that it covers both the nose and the mouth is important and taking care that if you are going to remove it, remove it the right way, because otherwise you could also be contaminated that mask as well," advises Wen. The demonstrations over the killing of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white Minneapolis officer pressed a knee into his neck, are coming at a time when many cities were beginning to relax stay-at-home orders. That's especially worrisome for health experts who fear that silent carriers of the virus who have no symptoms could unwittingly infect others at gatherings with people packed cheek to jowl and cheering and jeering without masks. Even for the many protesters who have been wearing masks, those don't guarantee protection from the coronavirus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends cloth masks because they can make it more difficult for infected people to spread the virus — but they are not designed to protect the person wearing the mask from getting it. Wen says with an incubation period of up to two weeks, a spike in numbers may not happen immediately. "So we might not see the impact for another month or so. All this is to say to not draw the wrong lessons. So even if we do not see an immediate spike, let's not rest. Let's keep on our guard" The U.S. has been worst hit by the coronavirus outbreak, with more than 1.7 million cases and over 103,000 deaths, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...