Mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio, has decided to life the curfew, days after USA suffered widespread riots in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd. He said that it was the first “big step” to restart.
The decision to lift the curfew in New York City comes a couple of days after ‘health experts’ defended the mass gatherings at the anti-racism protests and even encouraged the protesters. However, they made it clear that only mass gatherings at anti-racism protests were permissible and people still could not be granted permission for attending the funerals of the deceased in their families.
The letter, which was signed by over 1200 public health experts, focused on the inevitable harm mass gatherings would cause. It said, “We created the letter in response to emerging narratives that seemed to malign demonstrations as risky for the public health because of Covid-19.” “Instead, we wanted to present a narrative that prioritizes opposition to racism as vital to the public health, including the epidemic response. We believe that the way forward is not to suppress protests in the name of public health but to respond to protesters demands in the name of public health, thereby addressing multiple public health crises,” it added.
The letter states further, “However, as public health advocates, we do not condemn these gatherings as risky for COVID-19 transmission. We support them as vital to the national public health and to the threatened health specifically of Black people in the United States. We can show that support by facilitating safest protesting practices without detracting from demonstrators’ ability to gather and demand change. This should not be confused with a permissive stance on all gatherings, particularly protests against stay-home orders.”
Politicians of a liberal hue, too, continue to emphasise on the importance of these protests and encourage it while continuing lockdown and emphasising on social distancing. Some professors on epidemiology have also claimed that the dangers of ‘systemic racism’ is far greater than the threat posed by the virus.
