Despite public health concerns about the recent Black Lives Matter Protests, researchers have reported they have not contributed to the increase in COVID-19 cases.
RELATED STORIES: Judge Orders ICE To Free Detained Immigrant Children Over COVID-19 Concerns
According to the Independent, the National Bureau of Economic Research reported that the international protests after the death of George Floyd had no significant impact on the spread of the virus. The study also claimed the protests might have encouraged people to stay in their homes due to the large groups. It says, “Event-study analyses provide strong evidence that net stay-at-home behavior increased following protest onset, consistent with the hypothesis that non-protesters’ behavior was substantially affected by urban protests,”
It also states other factors such as street closures and heavy traffic may have discouraged people from traveling in urban areas.
“Our findings suggest that any direct decrease in social distancing among the subset of the population participating in the protests is more than offset by increasing social distancing behavior among others who may choose to shelter-at-home and circumvent public places while the protests are underway,”
RELATED STORIES: California Governor Gavin Newsom Warns Another Shutdown Due To Growing COVID-19 Cases
However, coronavirus cases have increased significantly in Florida, Texas, California, and Arizona. There have been numerous closures of businesses as a result due to a lack of social distancing and no mask policies.