Dallas County Leaders Warn Protesters Pandemic Not Over
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Streets that were empty in March are now crowded with protesters.
And in places like parks, where just a few weeks ago groups of more than ten people couldn't gather in Texas, hundreds now stand together.
Dr. Lisa Taylor-Kennedy with the Dallas County Medical Society said her two children are among those protesting the death of George Floyd.
She's urging everyone out there to be cautious.
"We want you to remember we are still in a COVID-19 pandemic," she said.
Dallas County is now providing protesters with masks and hand sanitizer donated by the Dallas Mavericks.
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins is also advising them to try to somehow keep more than six feet away from each other during the demonstrations.
"It's not lost on me as I'm up here talking about the risk of COVID, the risk that a lot of them are taking," Judge Jenkins said.
He has encouraged people to look for alternate ways to get their voices heard, worried they may inadvertently hurt the communities they aim to help.
"I think what you're doing is an important thing. Again, if you could find a way to do it outside of a large crowd because of COVID because we know it is disproportionately affecting communities of color, please find a way to do that," he said.
With a single-day record 285 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in Dallas County confirmed on Thursday, Dallas' City Manager T.C. Broadnax also expressed concern.
In a statement he urged, "anyone who has been in close proximity of these large crowds to get tested at one of the city's drive-thru community-based testing sites."