Covid-19 and Factors Affecting the Participation Rate of George Floyd′s Death Protests (Essay Sample)

COVID 19 Effects on The Participation Rate of George Floyd′S Death Protests
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COVID 19 Effects on The Participation Rate of George Floyd′S Death Protests
Following the death of a black American citizen George Floyd′s on 25th may this year, many citizens turned out after to protest his killing by a police officer. A video went round across US and the rest of the world showing his killing when he was handcuffed and pinned to the ground by a police officer's knee leaving him unconscious, despite begging them to stop torturing him as he could not barely breath. Health experts warned that the protests that lasted for a few days could spark between  50 and 500 coronavirus deaths across the United States daily. Like any other protests witnessed across the world, the march against killing blacks, dubbed “Black Lives Matter,” attracted massive gatherings each day as among individuals from different races, classes, and backgrounds. Debates have been held since then to analyses the implication of the COVID 19 on the success of mass protests following the killing of George Floyd′s by police officers (Oriola & Knight, 2020).
The death of George Floyd inside police custody relates to a well-known phenomenon that affects African Americans thrice when compared to white Americans. His death happened in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, an era in which African Americans are more exposed to the virus due to their frontline work involvement. Covid 19 is s respiratory disease caused by a new stain of corona virus. The virus was first reported in Wuhan china before it spread to the rest of the world. It has been a pandemic because it is highly infectious and deadly having recorded over 65 million cases and 1,523,583 deaths in 220 countries across the world. The world has been affected by this pandemic as WHO and health experts requested for new measurers that saw the entire world go into a lockdown and forced quarantine as a mechanism for managing the spread of the virus.
Statistics have shown that the coronavirus’s exposure to SARS-CoV-2 is approximately double among the recorded deaths and nearly three times as their white counterparts (Hylton, 2020). With these figures, the black American communities were unstoppable from marching against racial discrimination and low poling strategies among the white police officers whenever African Americans are victims. Nevertheless, the protests attracted international attention as people across the world joined in to protest virtually through the major social media showing their support and solidarity. It became an international protest as protestor from all races, social classes, and backgrounds supported the protest increasing awareness over the oppression and unjustified killing of suspects by police officers. For most of the protestors, the COVID 19 pandemic was not a factor to consider when it came to marching for human rights though the “Black Lives Matters” movement that aimed at advocating for social change for the benefit of the minority groups.
Protestors came out with objectives to show the world that the ongoing pandemic should allow social injustice to prevail. All the protestors put on their masks appropriately and observed some sense of social distancing. However, Oriola & Knight (2020) mentions that the turnout was lower than previous events where streets could be blocked by individuals who marched comfortably without fear of getting too close to each other. The reduction in the number of protestors can be linked to a prior warning from health departments. Health experts expressed fears that the coronavirus carriers, with no symptoms (asymptomatic), could unwittingly infect others during the protests where the suggested guidelines on social distancing would be challenging to achieve. Moreover, most influential experts such as Dr. Michael Mina, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Harvard T. H., warned his followers against the protest. In his opposition, he cites that some people will opt to show up with no mask or take off their covers after a scenario that exposes the rest to the risk of infection (Hylton, 2020).
States occupied by minority groups were supported by other citizens from all races and social class statues ignored public health guidance for stemming the spread of COVID-19. Surprisingly, that the pandemic did not prevent scores of people as thousands marched through Franklin Park, chanting “Don’t shoot,” holding signs reading “Black lives matter” and “Enough is Enough.” According to Himson, (2020), amongst the low-income groups, their willingness to participate in the mass protest over the death of George Floyd amid the public health guidance for stemming the spread of COVID-19. The COVID 19 pandemic has put the U.S though a recession and affected day to day operations as the situation has been projected to worsen even more.  Millions are unemployed have been adversely affected by the government and WHO regulations with a stay at home and quarantine directions. In no time, the unemployed population, the majority of whom are Asians and African Americans, and a small portion of whites living in extr