B.C.’s top doctor says there have been no known cases of COVID-19 in the province linked to last month’s anti-Black racism protests.
At her daily news briefing on Monday, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry attributed the lack of transmission to the fact that the protests, which were sparked by the death of George Floyd in the United States, took place outside.
Many protesters wore masks and maintained physical distance, she said.
Thousands gathered in downtown Vancouver last month for demonstrations to condemn racism in the name of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man who died in Minneapolis after a white police officer pressed a knee into his neck.
Vancouver police estimated the crowds at each of a handful of events to be between 5,000 and 10,000 people at peak.
Volunteers at the rallies were seen distributing hand sanitizer and masks in a bid to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Similar protests took place in Victoria and other parts of B.C.
Henry said public health officials in the U.S. have told her they haven’t seen a spike in cases that can be linked to George Floyd protests either.
She noted, however, that there have been cases of outdoor transmission in the U.S. that can be traced to large groups attending parties and events on beaches.
“So there’s something inherently different about what you’re doing with a group of people partying on a beach versus what we’ve been seeing with some of these protests,” she said.
“That was surprising. I think many of us thought that it would be a similar risk.”
Henry said transmission is unlikely to occur by walking or running past an infected person on the street.
“It’s when you’re spending time with people, when you’re sharing foods and drinks with people, when you’re partying, dancing, laughing, kissing, hugging,” she said.
“Those are the situations that you’re much more likely to spread droplets.”
— With files from Amy Judd, Simon Little and The Canadian Press