As we move further into summer and the year 2020, I marvel on how this year, already has has been unlike any other. The United States is feeling the effects of two major phenomenon at once, the COVID-19 pandemic and the death of George Floyd.

These two events occurred, all while the world, including us, continue to be quarantined and “sheltered- in” either by government sanction or otherwise. Some of us were already social distancing before the novel coronavirus or COVID-19 has became common phrases and words people commonly utter.

We continue to have to use precautions against COVID-19. Some governments have relaxed restrictions on the guidelines and restrictions that are being enforced due to COVID-19. I have hope more of us will continue to social distance and it is my hopes we will continue to move towards less cases of new infections with COVID-19. So far that has not been the case.

There has been constant protesting in America. There has been a rise in new infections, and that leads to a question? Are The George Floyd Protests Spreading the COVID-19 Again? First, lets revisit the event that sparked the outrage….

THE KILLING OF GEORGE FLOYD MAY 25

On May 25, 2020 police officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeled on the neck of handcuffed George Floyd for approximately eight minutes in Powderhorn, Minneapolis. As a result, Floyd begs for the officer to remove his knee and is repeatedly can be heard on the video saying that he could not breathe. After a few minutes into the video Floyd is nonresponsive but Chauvin does not remove his knee. Floyd is later pronounced dead.

Witnesses record the incident which involved a total of four officers. One applied his knee, one held Floyd’s back, one held Floyd’s legs, and one made sure no one intervened. It is later learned Floyd was being arrested for allegedly trying to pay for purchases at a deli with a counterfeit bill. People driving by took video footage with their phones; witnesses on the ground did as well.

The video of George Floyd and his interaction with the police was documented by a number of videos and a number of angles. When the video began to circulate and go viral on social media, the public was outraged. The phrase, “I Can’t Breathe” began to trend. As more information came out, the public began to speak out against what is widely viewed as the murder of a person based on their ethnicity. All four officers were fired the next day.

Protests& Social Unrest

In response to the killing, all over the country protests against the killing of George Floyd and Black people in general by the police, began, starting with Minnesota. The bus stop by the site of his death became a memorial with people paying tribute to Floyd starting May 26. All over the country rioting and social unrest broke out in response to the killing of George Floyd and Black people in general by the police, began, starting with Minnesota. The 3rd Precinct of the Minneapolis Police was burned and nearby buildings was vandalized.

Looting had begun as some bad elements mixed in with the protesters. Many protests and unrest broke out in hundreds of cities and people even protested in front of Derek Chauvin’s home. As a result of the mayhem at the time of this article many major United States cities have curfews.

All around the country the cases of COVID-19 are increasing could the widespread protesting to blame? I mean in the middle of a pandemic, we have seen several videos of protesters in close proximity, without masks. We all are supposed to be social distancing but we see several videos of people hugging and holding hands. This makes me wonder if this is a factor in the increase of cases of the coronavirus globally.

What are your thoughts?

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Resources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_the_United_States