Protests over George Floyd's death raise fear of an increase in coronavirus cases in the United States

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Revelation of new George Floyd death video 2:48

(CNN) - Government leaders and health officials have expressed concern that the coronavirus may spread rapidly during protests over the death of George Floyd.

Floyd died after Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, who has already been fired, knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes. Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

People across the country have taken to the streets to express their frustrations at the apparent worthlessness of black men's lives. It was the same week that the nation passed the 100,000 death toll from coronavirus.

On Sunday alone, there was an increase of nearly 20,000 cases, according to CNN's account compiled with data from Johns Hopkins University.

As of Monday morning, at least 1,790,191 Americans have contracted the virus and 104,383 have died. But some expect a jump in cases after days of protests.

Peak in expected cases

With large groups of people in close proximity during the protests, Minnesota Gov. Walz said he expects a sharp increase in covid-19 cases in his state.

"I am deeply concerned about this type of super-propagating incident," said Walz. “We are going to see a spike in (the cases of) covid-19. It is unavoidable".

Officials in New York shared the governor's concern about a possible increase in the coronavirus among protesters.

"I still wish everyone would realize that when people come together it is inherently dangerous in the context of this pandemic, and I will continue to urge people not to use that approach and, if they do, to focus on the social distancing and face covering, ”said New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Saturday.

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The mayor said he recognized the need to demonstrate after Floyd's death, and that "it is a very, very complicated reality."

"You can't see overt racism, you can't see overt racist murder and not feel something deep, so I understand that," de Blasio added. "But the last thing we would like to see is that members of our community are harmed because the virus spread in one of these settings."

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said that while people have the right to protest, even during a pandemic, they also have a duty to protect their health and that of others.

"You have the right to protest, God bless the United States," Cuomo said at a press conference on Saturday. "You have no right to infect other people, you have no right to act in a way that endangers public health."

"Protest with a mask on," he said, noting its effectiveness. "They are wrong not to wear a mask, I think they are disrespectful, I think they are unnecessarily putting other people's lives at risk."

Cuomo also highlighted how the coronavirus has once again brought to light long-standing health disparities for the black community.

“The coronavirus crisis has created deep pain that has not yet been taken into account. Many New Yorkers have lost someone, but that is particularly true in communities of color and particularly true in the black community, ”said Cuomo. "That loss is felt so deeply because everyone knows it is not based on equality ... communities of color lost much more."

Protests are taking the focus off the pandemic

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms also said she is concerned about the impact the virus is having on the community during the protests. Lance Bottoms told CNN that she has been so busy with the ongoing unrest in her city that she forgot to look at the infection data for days.

"Last night I realized I hadn't seen our coronavirus numbers in two days," Lance Bottoms told CNN's Jake Tapper during State of the Union. "That is terrifying because it is a pandemic and people of color are being hit harder."

“I am extremely concerned when we see mass meetings. We know what is happening in our community with this virus, "explained the mayor.

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan shared a similar sentiment saying the priority has been to keep people safe during protests, but the focus should also include fighting for months against the spread of the coronavirus.

Speaking to Jake Tapper in "State of the Union," Hogan said he, too, is concerned about the coronavirus amid the consequences of Floyd's death.

"There is no doubt that when you put hundreds or thousands of people together while we have this virus on the streets, it is not healthy," said Hogan. "Within two weeks in the United States we are going to find out if this gives us a peak or not and increases the numbers."

"Most states had rules about not having meetings of ten or more and now we are seeing thousands of people crowded together," added Hogan.

Health experts are concerned about the spread

Health experts have also spoken about the need to wear face masks and other protective measures in light of racial disparities in data showing that minorities are at increased risk of contracting the virus.

Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a former commissioner of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the government of President Donald Trump, said this Sunday on the CBS "Face the Nation" program that these protests will create a further spread of covid- 19, especially in a state that was already trending up the number of cases before this week's events.

"There will be many problems that will arise from what happened in the last week, but one of them will be that the transmission chains will have been turned on from these meetings," said Gottlieb. “And Minnesota, one of the hardest hit by protests where large mass gatherings have been seen, has been seeing an increase in cases since before. Even before these protests began, we saw hospitalizations in that state increase. ”

Other doctors told CNN that the racial disparity in the way the coronavirus is spread will only worsen with the protests.

"I think this week, more than any other week, it is very important to draw attention to the racial disparities that many of us in the public health community, John, have been talking about for months," said the doctor. Megan Ranney, an emergency physician and researcher at Brown University, to CNN's John King. "We know that blacks are two to four times more likely to die from covid-19 compared to whites. And, of course, other communities, such as Native Americans and Hispanics, are also disproportionately affected.

"It is closely linked to the country's history of structural racism, historical injustices and ongoing problems," said Dr. Ranny.

Dr. Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Institute of Global Health, said on the same show that he wanted protesters to wear masks to protect themselves and others.

- CNN's Kristina Sgueglia and Maggie Fox contributed to this report.

covid-19 George Floyd Protests in the USA