It IS early….
But so far?
With protestors wearing masks?
The ‘Big Apple’ HAS been lucky…..
Health officials also will know more with more time….
Wear your mask when you are gonna be close to people….
Officials in New York have openly fretted that the massive civil rights and anti-police protests following the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd could lead to a new coronavirus outbreak as tens of thousands packed together on city streets.
Yet, testing data released by city and state officials in recent days shows little evidence of any spike — a seemingly confounding development that experts say is attributable to a few key factors.
First, the lag in test results and COVID-19’s long incubation period mean the Big Apple may not be out of the woods, yet.
“It is too soon to tell what public health impact the protests of the last few weeks will have on New York,” said Professor Summer McGee, the dean of the School of Health Sciences at the University of New Haven, in Connecticut.
“We will have a much better picture of things in another week or two because positive tests and hospitalization lag behind exposure by a few weeks.”
However, the protests were outdoors in the fresh air and the vast majority of protestors at demonstrations wore face masks or other protective coverings, two important things that scientists say help prevent the virus’ spread.
“Most protesters I saw were wearing some kind of cloth face covering,” McGee added. “But prolonged close proximity to others is a concern when individuals are wearing bandanas and less effective masks.”
Masks are increasingly central to efforts by public health authorities to slow the spread of the disease….