Public health officials are encouraging protesters to get a coronavirus test about 5 days after they attend demonstrations -- even if they don’t have symptoms -- to protect their families, friends, and fellow marchers.
“This is an especially difficult time for our country, and we certainly want to do everything we can to support everybody involved, because health and safety go hand in hand,” says Umair A. Shah, MD, the executive director of Harris County Public Health in Texas. “We just don’t want to go backward.”
Estrada, a 29-year-old environmental awareness educator, learned this week he had antibodies that likely show he has already been infected once. Still, he says taking to the streets to support friends who have been assaulted by officers was worth the risk of getting the virus a second time because “to me, it felt irresponsible not to stand up for the values of human life.”Estrada says he’s going out of his way to keep himself and fellow protesters safe.
Some communities around the country are working to add testing sites, in part because of the protests. Georgia. Gov. Brian Kemp aIn Dallas County, TX, officials are trying to add testing centers that are easy to get to, says Philip Huang, MD, director of the county’s health department. There are two drive-thru locations, but testing is limited to people with chronic health conditions such as
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