2020 Protestors and COVID

[the Vital One]

Public gatherings were discouraged or outright forbidden in 2020 amid the pandemic, as we can all remember.

There were numerous large protests following the death of George Floyd.

Why did authorities, both political and medical, say that the protests would not spread the virus?

 

[peaceful-forest]

They're hypocrites and liars. They only care about certain people that meet certain criteria (like liberalism). If you don't meet that criteria, you're going to be treated differently.

 

[PloverWing]

Why did authorities, both political and medical, say that the protests would not spread the virus?

Can you cite the specific source(s) you have in mind?

At the protest in our town, we were outside, and family groups stayed at least 6 feet apart, which meant we were following the official CDC guidelines at the time.

But, sure, there was risk if you crowded in close to other protesters, and extra risk if you were indoors. I don't remember the authorities saying otherwise. The virus doesn't care if your activity is for a just cause; it just cares about people being close together. What authoritative statements do you have in mind?

 

[the Vital One]

Can you cite the specific source(s) you have in mind?

At the protest in our town, we were outside, and family groups stayed at least 6 feet apart, which meant we were following the official CDC guidelines at the time.

But, sure, there was risk if you crowded in close to other protesters, and extra risk if you were indoors. I don't remember the authorities saying otherwise. The virus doesn't care if your activity is for a just cause; it just cares about people being close together. What authoritative statements do you have in mind?

Ok, that's good to hear. Very informative.

Here are three articles I found searching Bing for "Floyd protests COVID" (without the quotation marks).

Experts say protests over the death of George Floyd pose multiple risks for infection – but that doesn't mean they should stop.

Over 1,000 health professionals sign a letter saying, Don’t shut down protests using coronavirus concerns as an excuse

Suddenly, Public Health Officials Say Social Justice Matters More Than Social Distance

You can see that the attitude was "we have to do something (socially distance) until it becomes politically or socially inconvenient (need to protest)." It's a case where people may not outright say something like that, but the attitude is clearly there.

 

[SeventhFisherofMen]

Public gatherings were discouraged or outright forbidden in 2020 amid the pandemic, as we can all remember.

There were numerous large protests following the death of George Floyd.

Why did authorities, both political and medical, say that the protests would not spread the virus?

I think anyone with half a brain knows why

 

[Pommer]

I think anyone with half a brain knows why

Clamping down on people who are already protesting injustice is generally considered “a bad look”?

 

[SeventhFisherofMen]

Clamping down on people who are already protesting injustice is generally considered “a bad look”?

So you're trying to say that there is no bias then on what the media portrays as bad gathering and what the media turns a blind eye to? Cause if so i'm not buying it

 

[driewerf]

Public gatherings were discouraged or outright forbidden in 2020 amid the pandemic, as we can all remember.

There were numerous large protests following the death of George Floyd.

Why did authorities, both political and medical, say that the protests would not spread the virus?

Did the authorities say that protests wouldn't spread the virus? Where, when did they say that?

 

[Tuur]

Clamping down on people who are already protesting injustice is generally considered “a bad look”?

Yet when there was a gathering of conservatives or so much as a football game, it was complained that these are "superspreader events." Of all the things that happened during the pandemic, this double-standard was likely what raised the greatest distrust.

 

[the Vital One]

Did the authorities say that protests wouldn't spread the virus? Where, when did they say that?

It has become evident following a review of the links provided above that my wording should have been different in the OP. They didn't say the virus would not be spread. What they actually said was that it would be spread, but that such a spread was acceptable because their chosen political objective was more important than stopping said spread.

Here are some excerpts from the Politico article linked above, with all underlining being my emphasis. The article was published June 4, 2020:

Yet many say the protests are worth the risk of a possible Covid-19 surge, including hundreds of public health workers who signed an open letter this week that sought to distinguish the new anti-racist protests “from the response to white protesters resisting stay-home orders.”

“Staying at home, social distancing, and public masking are effective at minimizing the spread of COVID-19,” the letter signers add. “However, as public health advocates, we do not condemn these gatherings as risky for COVID-19 transmission.”

Was it fair to decry conservatives’ protests about the economy while supporting these new protests? And if tens of thousands of people get sick from Covid-19 as a result of these mass gatherings against racism, is that an acceptable trade-off? Those are questions that a half-dozen coronavirus experts who said they support the protests declined to directly answer.

“Overnight, behaviors seen as dangerous and immoral seemingly became permissible due to a ‘greater need,’” Flier said.

This certainly isn't the first time science had had to move aside for political considerations.

It’s a reminder of a line often heard from medical experts: Public health should be above politics. Now some conservatives are invoking it too.

I don't think that happened in the summer of 2020.

 

[Aaron112]

Why did authorities, both political and medical, say that the protests would not spread the virus?

They already had the evidence it would not spread ? ....
Similar to the USNavy later ?

 

[JustOneWay]

They're hypocrites and liars. They only care about certain people that meet certain criteria (like liberalism). If you don't meet that criteria, you're going to be treated differently.

Liars, hypocrites and liberals, oh my.... all that based on a post on Christian Forums with no quotes from political or medical authorities....