Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Wednesday that public protests are likely causing an increase in the number of coronavirus cases across the city, just two days after claiming there was “no conclusive evidence” showing a connection between the two.
Garcetti, a Democrat, spoke at a press conference about the recent Black Lives Matter protests in Los Angeles when asked if the protests were contributing to the spread of COVID-19.
He claimed that he had consulted with Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Los Angeles County director of public health, and determined that the protests were in fact contributing to the spread of the virus.
“I spoke to Dr. Ferrer about it again this morning. She believes that part of the spread came from our protests, “he said.” It is not the act of protesting, that is something great and American, no matter what your opinion is … but protesting without maintaining physical distance, without using your mask, without having disinfectant, we just have to be smart. Whether you are at a protest or at home, whether at your workplace or if you are shopping, these rules do not change. ”
He added: “We believe there is a connection, we do not believe that everyone has been doing this safely and, whenever possible, stay home.”
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Fox News contacted the County Health Department for comment and received a video of an interview Wednesday with Dr. Ferrer, where he stated the statement.
“In situations where people are together for longer periods and there are a lot of people, we are sure it will spread. Therefore, we have never said that there is no spread of people protesting,” he explained.
After being asked earlier in the video if government officials were downplaying the effect of the protests on coronavirus statistics, she said: “We have been really honest and have said from the beginning that anyone in situations crowded for long periods of time … which for us means more than 15 minutes: when you are in close contact with people, less than six feet away and people who do not wear a cloth face covering you have a increased risk of transmitting the virus if you are an asymptomatic spread, or get the virus from someone else who is spreading because they are also asymptomatic spread. “
However, this collided with the statements made by Garcetti during Tuesday’s press conference, where he called the hypothesis idea and minimized the potential impact that mass public protests were having on the number of COVID-19 cases in the city.
“We are following the data closely,” he said, according to Fox 11. “There is still no evidence that the protests have led to much spread, although it is something that Dr. Ferrer has hypothesized, but we have not seen any conclusive evidence there. “
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Fox News contacted Mayor Garcetti’s press office for follow-up, but did not respond to a request for comment.
