TOPLINE
Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Giménez, R-Republican, attributes part of the recent increase in the coronavirus in South Florida to protesters who took to the streets after the death of George Floyd in support of Black Lives Matter, repeating an explanation. It is becoming increasingly popular with Republicans, while many in the scientific community remain skeptical.
MIAMI, UNITED STATES – 2020/06/05: Protesters march through the streets of Miami protesting against … [+]
KEY FACTS
Giménez told CBS “Face the Nation” Sunday that the protests “had a lot to do with” causing a new coronavirus spike in South Florida.
The area has seen a significant increase in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations recently, which has led Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, one of the largest hospitals in the world, to suspend elective surgeries, while the beaches closed the end of week of July 4 throughout South Florida.
Giménez’s explanation is one that has only recently taken hold, especially among Republicans, even with a lack of scientific evidence to back it up.
The scientific evidence so far does not support that explanation: Last week, a team of economists also released a 60-page document through the National Bureau of Economic Research, which found no “evidence that urban protests rekindled the growth of the case. Covid-19 for more than three weeks after the start of the protest. “
New York City, for example, had major protests in the days after George Floyd’s death, but the city did not register a coronavirus spike as a result.
In particular, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (Republican of California), the top Republican in the United States House, said in an interview last week that he believed the protests were partly to blame for increases in coronaviruses nationwide.
CRITICAL QUOTE
“I think obviously the protests had a lot to do with it,” said Giménez. “We had, you know, thousands of young people together outside, many of them without masks. And we know that when you do that and you’re talking and you’re singing, etc., it really spreads the virus.
KEY FUND
Much of the blame so far for the coronavirus surge has been on young people who congregate indoors for parties and bars, and who do not march outside as part of a protest. Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has also blamed some of the blame for the state’s historic rise on young people who gather in bars, and has ordered bars in the state to close again. The state is now a major contributor to recent record increases in nationally reported coronavirus cases, and the southern part of the state is among the areas that have been most affected. On Wednesday, Miami-Dade reported his 1,000th death from the coronavirus.
BIG NUMBER
Above twenty% “That is the number of tests that are now positive for the coronavirus in Miami-Dade,” said Giménez. That is a figure that in the past had been 8%.
OTHER READINGS
Research finds protests did not spike coronavirus (Forbes) cases
Miami-Dade reaches 1,000 deaths from coronavirus when patients in the health system double (Forbes)
South Florida Closing Beaches for Fourth of July (Forbes)
The leader of the House of Representatives suggests without evidence that protests are increasing cases of coronavirus (CNBC)
