Safer protesting in the time of COVID-19
Many people are struggling with the decision about how to balance their desire to support #BlackLivesMatter and their concerns about COVID-19. Here are some thoughts to help you manage that decision.
Going to a protest does carry some risk of COVID-19 exposure but the level of risk is impacted by a number of different factors:
How much COVID-19 is in your community: have cases been increasing recently (higher risk) or have no new cases been diagnosed in the last two weeks despite lots of testing (lower risk)?
How many people are involved: is it a massive crowd of thousands (higher risk) or a small action of 10 people (lower risk)?
How spaced out are people: is it possible to maintain 6’ spacing between participants (lower risk) or do the number of people and size of the space make that impossible (higher risk)?
How much shouting/yelling/chanting is there: is it a silent march (lower risk) or an action where people are yelling call-and-response constantly (higher risk)?
How long is the protest going to last: is it a couple of hours while marching in the street (lower risk) or an overnight occupation of a building (higher risk)?
How much airflow and fresh air is there: is it an outside march (lower risk) or an organizing meeting of 50 people crammed into a small room (higher risk)?
There is no right answer on whether the level of risk associated with a protest is safe for you. It depends on the specific protest, your personal level of risk-tolerance, and how much you weigh the importance of going. If you are older or have health conditions that make you more likely to get severe COVID-19 infection, your risk tolerance will be very different from someone who is 25 and healthy.
It’s also important to recognize that COVID-19 might not be the only reason you don’t go to a protest. If you have asthma, exposure to tear gas or pepper spray can be life threatening. If you are a single parent you might not be able to risk getting arrested. It is a personal decision.
If you feel that are you unable to go to a protest that involves personal contact, but want to support #BlackLivesMatter, there are still many things you can do. Some people are organizing car-based protests that involve driving around police stations. Others are organizing actions that involve walking outside and they are careful to keep everyone 6 feet away from each other. Doing jail support is another key function; people who get arrested need someone to call who is not going to the protest. Many community and city council meetings are virtual; sign up to speak or offer to take notes for community groups that are working on policy changes. There are many ways you can offer support that don’t involve going somewhere in person. (For some other ideas see Time magazine and CNET.)
If you do want to go to an in-person protest, Dr. Crystal Beal (with QueerDoc.com) and I have developed a fact sheet (Safer Protesting in the Time of COVID-19) that might be helpful. The one thing we really want to emphasize is: Please stay home if you have any cold or flu symptoms! There are many other ways you can support #BlackLivesMatter.
For those who feel that this post is unrelated to public health, please read the American Public Health Association policy statement on Addressing Law Enforcement Violence as a Public Health Issue.