B.C. health officials are warning anyone who attended Sunday’s protest in Vancouver in the wake of George Floyd’s death in the U.S. to monitor their health.
An estimated 5,000 people gathered outside the Vancouver Art Gallery in solidarity with protests in the United States after a white police officer in Minneapolis held his knee on Floyd’s neck while the Black man was in handcuffs and crying out that he couldn’t breathe.
Many of the attendees were wearing masks, but health officials said Monday people should keep an eye out for possible COVID-19 symptoms for the next two weeks.
“You may have put yourself at risk and you may bring that back to your home,” Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, said.
“If you have any symptoms at all, you need to self-isolate. You need to get tested. You need to be sure you’re not contributing to further transmission of this virus.”
The warning applies to the dozens of people who demonstrated in Victoria on Monday afternoon, also in support of the Floyd protests.
Most of the attendees did wear masks and tried to keep physically distant from each other as they gathered on the front steps of the B.C. legislature.
Floyd’s death, captured on video, kicked off waves of protests and riots across the U.S. over the weekend.