Nationwide protests sparked by the deaths of African Americans in police custody could fuel the pandemic, and President Donald Trump postponed the G7 summit until at …
Nationwide protests sparked by the deaths of African Americans in police custody could fuel the pandemic, and President Donald Trump postponed the G7 summit until at least September amid coronavirus concerns.
Also, the Supreme Court ruled against allowing houses of worship in California and Illinois to reopen with more people than allowed by their state restrictions. The ruling comes as the U. S. closes in on 1.8 million confirmed cases, more than a quarter of all COVID-19 cases worldwide.
According to Johns Hopkins University data, the virus has killed more than 103,000 people in the U. S. and more than 369,000 worldwide.
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Here are a few key developments to know Sunday:
Civil unrest across the nation fueled by racial injustice is raising fears of new coronavirus outbreaks.
Melanie Campbell, president of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, said anger in the black community has been building for years. Floyd’s death spurred them to take to the streets even as the coronavirus has taken a disproportionate toll on African Americans.
«Black people are risking their lives protesting in the middle of a pandemic that’s killing black folks. That’s real,» she said. «There is no convenient time to fight back.»
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms warned that «if you were out protesting last night, you probably need to go get a COVID test this week.” Bottoms warned that “there is still a pandemic in America that’s killing black and brown people at higher numbers» than white people.
In Minneapolis, where a police officer faces a third-degree murder charge in the death of George Floyd, the Minnesota health commissioner warned that the protests are almost certain to fuel new infections. Said Mayor Jacob Frey: “We have two crises that are sandwiched on top of one other.»
Health experts fear carriers of the virus who have no symptoms could unwittingly infect others at protests where social distancing is simply not taking place.
