Thousands of peaceful protestors took to Dorchester’s Franklin Park on Tuesday, continuing days of demonstrations against police brutality and the killing of George Floyd.
While nearly all protesters came wearing face masks, some have expressed concern that having thousands congregate in close proximity could make a new outbreak of the coronavirus all the more likely. COVID-19 has so far claimed over 7,000 lives in Massachusetts.
On Wednesday, medical ethicist Art Caplan returned to Boston Public Radio, where he talked about the health risks for people on both sides of the protests, and how best to mitigate them.
“The virus is still here,” he cautioned. “It still wants to infect you given the chance, so peaceful protesters, at least keep on those masks, bring that hand sanitizer. Try not to hug and physically touch one another.”
"I’m not sure they’re gonna be socially distant– that’s pretty hard in a demonstration, so I get that,” he continued. "But you should be doing all that you can, and remember: it isn’t just making the group sick, it’s bringing it home, the virus."
"By the way,” he noted, "there’s one other group... who’s not masking all the time — it’s the cops. They’re going face to face with the protesters, and I see a few masks on the cops, but not many."
Caplan said it’s a good idea for anybody attending protests to get themselves tested for COVID-19, if possible.
"I think the time for going out and getting testing if you think you’ve been exposed is now. The tests aren’t great still, but you can retest and then confirm if you turned out positive,” he said.
There was one group, however, that Caplan didn’t attempt to sway with his medical advice.
“Somebody said ‘well what about looters?’ Eh, it’s probably a reach,” he joked.
Art Caplan is the Drs. William F and Virginia Connolly Mitty Chair, and director of the Division of Medical Ethics at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
