on the hypothesis that the people *not protesting* social distanced more than they would have by avoiding protests, not that protesters weren't spreading the virus. Of course thousands of people standing shoulder to shoulder, yelling, packed in Subways or cars, against government and health recommendations, were spreading the virus, nonsensical to think otherwise. The argument protesting was too important to obey the guidelines makes sense, that protesters weren't passing virus engaging in high risk behavior because they were outside or frequently wearing masks goes against common sense.

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What are the risks posed by protesting?

We know that people crowding together is a risk for transmission, although being outside is better than being inside, of course, and a lot of the protesters did make an effort to social distance and wear masks. Nevertheless there were a lot of things that we think would be a high risk for transmission. And some of those things were the response to the protests, such as being crowded together in vans, being crowded together in jails, tear gas, and so on. So, were there risks associated with the protests? I would say, “Yeah.” I think it remains to be seen what impact that will have had on transmission.

It's interesting that in New York, we haven't yet seen a massive uptick in cases—but it might just be that there's a time lag between transmission and [new] cases, and symptoms and hospitalizations. [Editor’s Note: A representative for the New York City Department of Health said data on the number of coronavirus infections linked the protests was not yet available, but noted that those who attend protests are eligible to get tested at a number of centers around the city.] I do think that, in terms of the risks people are taking, the right to protest is an important function. And just as we prioritize essential workers, we should prioritize essential functions [of] democracy. So I personally support the idea behind the protests, even though I do think that there is some risk when you bring a lot of people together.