A huge crowd gathered in downtown Grand Rapids on May 30, 2020, to protest police brutality against minorities and the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. (PHOTO CREDIT: Michael Buck/WOOD TV8)
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Officials with the Kent County Health Department said they will be monitoring closely to see if recent protests lead to a spike in COVID-19 cases, but so far, it’s too early for a definitive answer.
Kent County Health Department Epidemiologist Brian Hartl told News 8, “We know that the incubation period for this particular virus is anywhere from two to 14 days, so we’re kind of in that time frame where we’re still kind of assessing and monitoring to see what our cases are doing. think it’s too early to tell what the impact of these have been on the number of cases in Kent County.”
Hartl noted, that CVID-19 cases in the county continue a downward trend. One promising observation from recent demonstrations is that many, if not most, protesters have worn a mask.
Hartl added, “People were wearing those masks, which is great. We want people to get out there and make their voice heard, but we want them to do it in the safest way possible."
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