Doctors: Yes, these protests are probably going to cause a spike in coronavirus cases – By Allahpundit (Hot Air) / June 1 2020
Under the worst of circumstances, a chunk of the country has decided to embark impromptu on a major scientific experiment. In a few weeks we’ll have a decent idea of just how transmissible the coronavirus is in mass gatherings of mostly young adults taking place outdoors in warming weather.
Best-case scenario: Few infections, leading to growing confidence that the virus can be held at bay for the rest of the summer without a true second wave. Worst-case scenario: Second wave with a vengeance.
Calling it an impromptu experiment is too flip, though. After all, anti-lockdown protesters held their own “experiments” at state capitols in April and got endless grief for the risk they created to themselves and people they’re in contact with. Why is it, asked Robby Soave, that the likes of Gavin Newsom ended up hyperventilating about people ignoring stay-at-home orders for that but now that others are ignoring them en masse to protest police brutality all he can do is mumble about solidarity? “Media and government experts who fail to consistently call out social distancing violations risk giving the impression that their commitment to zealous enforcement of public health measures wasn’t as absolute as they claimed,” wrote Soave. “It turns out they are willing to make exceptions for their preferred causes.”
Indeed. If you want to be charitable, you might say that it’s pointless for Newsom to try to discourage people from mass demonstrations under the present circumstances. Anyone who’s willing to risk a dangerous confrontation with armed cops to voice their outrage about George Floyd — or to loot, or to just smash sh*t up like Antifa — isn’t going to be turned back by finger-wagging about social distancing. But Soave’s read is fair too. Maybe for Newsom there’s a hierarchy of values here: Protesting social injustice is more important than containing the spread of a novel deadly disease, whereas containing the spread of a novel deadly disease is more important than, uh, employment for 40 million people.
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