This archive report was first published on 8 June 2020.
Published on June 8, 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the US, protests against systemic racism sparked a delicate balance between the need for social change and the risk of infection.
Conservatives have been vocal in their opposition to stringent measures supported by public health experts, with some arguing that the economy should take precedence over other concerns. However, experts warn that any increase in cases may be the result of the continued reopening of restaurants, workplaces, and mass transit.
Christopher F. Rufo, director of the Center on Wealth and Poverty at the Discovery Institute, a conservative think tank, expressed concerns that the public health establishment's standing would be undermined if the virus surges again. 'You're going to have half the country that has lost faith almost completely in the public health establishment,' he said.
But infectious disease experts argue that the protests themselves are unlikely to drive the resurgence in cases. Jeffrey Shaman, an epidemiologist at Columbia University, pointed out that the protests are 'associated with all the new opportunities that are providing a way for people to get together and pass the virus to one another.'
Activists, however, see the protests as a necessary step towards achieving justice. Sara Semi, a 27-year-old protester in Minneapolis, said, 'If I get infected fighting for justice, my soul can sit with that. I can't sit at home protected by my privileges if others aren't.'
