On July 1, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said public protests are probably the cause for the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in the city. This doesn't coincide with his earlier statement that debunked any sort of connection between the ongoing protests and an increase in the number of coronavirus cases.
Garcetti made this remark during a press conference regarding the recent Black Lives Matter demonstrations in Los Angeles, responding to a question about the demonstrations contributing to the surge in COVID-19 cases. He explained that after discussing with LA County's director of public health Dr. Barbara Ferrer, he concluded that the protests were contributing to the spread of coronavirus.
Dr. Ferrer attributed some of the spread to the protests, Garcetti said. He clarified that the act of protesting itself didn't contribute to the increased number of cases, adding that protesting is a great American thing to do regardless of what your opinion is. The governor said protesting without following physical distancing guidance, without wearing a mask or using sanitizer is what caused the surge, Daily Mail reported.
Garcetti said whether you are at the home, office, or out shopping, these rules are to be followed without any sort of carelessness, adding that people need to be smart. Admitting that there could be a connection with the protests and the increased number of cases, he noted that some protestors weren't following these guidelines, and urged people to stay home.
Fox News got in touch with the County Health Department and acquired footage of an interview with Dr. Ferrer, where she confirmed the statement. When people are close together for an extended period in a crowded place, she said there is going to be spread. She insisted they never claimed that protestors were not contributing to the spread of coronavirus.
When she was asked whether or not she thought government officials were ignoring the effect of the protests on coronavirus stats, Dr. Ferrer said they have been honest from the beginning and warned people about creating crowded situations for a long period, which alludes to about 15 minutes. When protestors were in close contact, less than six feet apart, and were not wearing cloth face covering, they ended up either the increasing rise of transmitting the virus if they were asymptomatic spreaders, or contract it from the asymptomatic spreader.
These comments did not coincide with Garcetti's statement during a recently concluded press conference, where he deemed the idea as an assumption and minimized the potential impact of demonstrations were having on the number of COVID-19 cases.