KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After a weekend of tense protests around Kansas City, area health experts worry about the lack of social distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“People need to be protesting the racial injustices and inequalities that are going on," said Dr. Rex Archer, director of the Kansas City, Missouri, Health Department. "But they also shouldn’t be spreading the disease to others.”
Experts were concerned about the close proximity between protesters during the weekend protests, which drew thousands of people.
“The inherent issue there is that there are just so many people who are so close together," said Dr. Dana Hawkinson, infectious disease specialist with the University of Kansas Health System. “If there are just two or three or four or 10 people who have it in that large number of people, there’s a very good chance that a lot of people can be infected from being at those demonstrations."
Despite the warnings and education surrounding the dangers of the virus, some protesters said their cause goes beyond health and safety.
"Gathering like this in large groups isn’t going to help it out, but it’s gotten to the point like, what else can we do?" said Kansas City native Vu Nguyen.
