Contrary to what many may have first believed, the Black Lives Matter protests occurring around the country have actually not greatly impacted the increase in Covid-19 cases throughout the United States. Using data from cell phone tracking in cities where large protests occurred and comparing to CDC data on Covid-19 increases, many of the virus growth rates decreased in these cities. One interesting behavior that also could have impacted this result is that the places where large protests occurred, those not attending protests sheltered inside more than usual to avoid them.

Other details which may have impacted the lack of increase in virus rates are the fact that all of the protests were outside and in most protests around the country, people have been found wearing masks. However, there is no way to know for sure if the protests really did or did not have an effect as CDC tracking information only works on a general geographic area, not necessarily on those who specifically attended a protest. One proposal is that perhaps people who have attended the protests are getting more sick, while the people who have avoided the protests and have stayed inside aren’t getting more sick but at the same rate, thus canceling each other out.

Learn more about the protests in relation to Covid-19 today.