Los Angeles County public health director: 'Highly likely' George Floyd protests caused coronavirus spike
The top public health official in Los Angeles County blamed massive protests for a spike in coronavirus cases.
Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer told the Los Angeles Times it was "highly likely" that the demonstrations, meant to protest against police brutality and racial injustice, contributed to the significant spike in COVID-19 cases in the city.
“The virus is not done with us,” Ferrer said.
More than 2,000 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded in Los Angeles County each day for the past three days. In the past two weeks, there were 46,735 new cases of coronavirus infection in the entire state of California, accounting for more than one-third of the state's cases since the pandemic began. The positive test rate climbed statewide, with a jump from 5.8% to 8.4% in Los Angeles County. By comparison, the rate in New York, which was the hardest-hit state in the country, has fallen below 1%.