As crowds protest across the US, more than 1,000 medical experts raise fears police tactics could worsen the pandemic
Police officers walk enveloped by teargas in Portland in March.Doctors, nurses and disease experts have warned that dousing crowds with teargas and pepper spray will accelerate the spread of coronavirus as mass demonstrations against police brutality rage on, raising concerns that police tactics could worsen a pandemic that has already taken a disproportionate toll on black and brown Americans.
Officials in some cities have agreed to curb its use. On Friday, Seattle’s mayor announced a 30-day moratorium on the use of teargas during protests after an outcry. California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, called for new statewide standards for law enforcement crowd control. And late on Friday night, a federal judge in Denver issued an order limiting the police department’s use of chemical weapons against peaceful protesters.
Moreover, these chemical agents can irritate the nose, mouth and lungs, causing inflammation that could weaken the body’s ability to resist infection, he said.Photograph: John Minchillo/AP Although CS, pepper balls and OC gas are all intended as non-lethal munitions, they’re designed to be used sparingly, in wide open spaces, “and only if protesters have a way to escape”, Jordt said. In Philadelphia, New York and Washington this week, officers boxed in, or “kettled”, demonstrators before spraying them with chemical agents. “They are exposing people to much higherlevels of these chemicals than was ever intended, and it’s unclear what the health consequences are,” Jordt said.
Antagonizing and brutalizing protestors could also further erode a community’s trust, posing challenges for health officials seeking to track and trace those who are infected with coronavirus, and warn those who may have been exposed. “After these protests, people may be mistrustful of giving names and addresses of people they were with to health officials, if they’re worried about their friends getting arrested,” Chin-Hong said.
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