In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organization took time at its daily press conference to address another pressing issue: the wave of protests against police violence and racial injustice. The demonstrations began in the U.S. when George Floyd died on May 25 after a police officer had pressed a knee into his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds while detaining him in Minneapolis.
The protests are now spreading around the world to Europe, Africa and other regions.
"WHO fully supports equality and the global movement against racism. We reject discrimination of all kinds," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on June 8.
The demonstrations have prompted fear that the close contact of thousands of marchers could lead to a spike in case counts — which hit a new high on Sunday, with 136,000 cases reported that day.
Modelers say it's difficult to assess how the protests will influence COVID-19 infections. Because COVID-19 generally has an incubation time of up to two weeks, public health officials think it will take a couple of weeks before they see the impact.
But it's clear that a key ingredient for transmission is present at many of these rallies: close contact. The images of protesters standing shoulder to shoulder — some wearing face masks, others not — raise concerns, especially in cities with higher rates of infection.
To that end, Tedros recommends that protesters follow the guidance of local health officials and take precautions to protect themselves from the novel coronavirus. "We encourage all those protesting around the world to do so safely," he said, "Clean your hands, cover your cough and wear a mask if you attend a protest." He also advised people to maintain a safe distance from others — and to stay home if they are sick.
"The riskiest situation to be in is to be in close proximity to a case, particularly a symptomatic case, of COVID-19," said Michael Ryan, director of WHO's health emergencies program at the press conference, so healthy people protesting next to one another may not meet the definition of coming in contact with the disease.
