Quote:
Originally Posted by GoodLife
Not just me, lots of epidemiologists are saying this. When you have people marching shoulder to shoulder, chanting and screaming, this is a recipe for contagion. In a packed protest march, you can have 9 people in a 6 foot by 6 foot square. Screaming and chanting loudly expels more virus from infected individuals.
The reopening rules in Florida are very specific, spacing of tables in restaurants, limited occupancy etc. Large groups, I think more than 10 are still prohibited. Maintain 6 foot social distancing etc etc. Somehow the large protests are exempt from all the rules.
I didn't just pull my theory out of thin air. I saw the headlines "Florida cases spiking" and wanted to find out where in Florida this was happening. I found that 70 percent of the new cases were coming from 7 counties. I saw that the big spikes started on June 12 and were in the same locations as the biggest protests. I also saw zero spikes in Counties like Sumter, which had no large protests. The Villages reopened May 4, why no spike in cases here or many other Florida counties?
Some new cases will happen, like the restaurant in Jacksonville that wasn't following guidelines. 16 people were infected, most likely from the 7 waiters and bartenders that were found to be positive and weren't wearing masks. Maybe the bartenders and waiters went to the protests in Jacksonville a week before.
It doesn't really matter if you think my logic doesn't compute. Perhaps you will take the time to research the data and come up with a better theory.
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Per the WSJ, 3,200 Minneapolis protesters tested, 1.8% positive = 48 cases. Boston, 1,288 tested, 1.08% positive = 14 cases.
Sixteen women celebrating a birthday on June 6 go to a bar in Jacksonville FL, all 16 test positive = 16 cases.
It's fair to say the protests contributed to an uptick, but it does not appear they the main component of the surge in new cases.
Early Data Show No Uptick in Covid-19 Transmission From Protests - WSJ