Get tested for COVID-19, Tacoma protesters. It’s more proof that Black Lives Matter
Since May 30, thousands across Pierce County have gathered in parks and taken to the streets in response to the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man killed by Minneapolis police officers.
The outrage was further fueled upon learning of a new death-by-cop homicide ruling, this one hitting close to home. Manuel “Manny” Ellis died while being detained by Tacoma Police in early March. Some of the last words he spoke eerily echoed Floyd’s and countless other black men and women who’ve died at the hands of law enforcement: “I can’t breathe, sir.”
Anger overrode caution, and a commitment to social distancing and stay-home orders went out the window. COVID-19 be damned; people found solace in numbers. In Tacoma’s Wright Park, people holding Black Lives Matter signs stood shoulder to shoulder listening to mothers express fear over their children’s futures.
But as powerful and necessary as the message is, we can’t forget that we’re also fighting another public-safety threat, one whose worst outcome also has people dying while struggling to breathe.
That’s why the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department is issuing a broad recommendation to protesters to get tested for coronavirus.
While experts are still learning about the lung-attacking virus, one constant is that it thrives in gatherings. It spreads through droplets discharged by activities such as shouting and singing, which is why we urge protesters to heed the call to get tested.
Edie Jeffers, a TPCHD spokesperson, says test supplies are now widely available through health providers or at testing events, such as the ones offered by QFC and Fred Meyer at the Tacoma Dome on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Protesters can put away fears of a stranger in a hazmat suit coming at them with a nasopharyngeal swab the size of a stick. At the Dome, self-administered tests are completed with a nasal swab you use in your car. Results are available within 48 hours. There is no cost, and no insurance is needed.
As Jeffers told a member of the Editorial Board: “If you don’t go for yourself, go for the friend of a friend who may have a loved one in a nursing home or a family member who’s in the high-risk category.”
Even if protesters haven’t felt sick, they’re encouraged to get tested. Health officials anticipate an uptick in COVID cases, and the faster they find out who the asymptomatic carriers are, the faster an outbreak gets contained.
Without a vaccine, prevention is still the best line of defense. TPCHD recommends all participants wear a mask, practice social distancing, wash hands frequently and get tested.
If you’re in a high-risk category or have symptoms common to COVID-19, do not show up to a protest. Find other ways to contribute. Your presence could undermine the Black Lives Matter mission, especially considering that Latino, African American and Native American people are 2-3 times more likely to be infected.
Public health officials aren’t trying to squelch the movement against injustice. Far from it. Dr. Anthony Chen, TPCHD health director, was one of seven public officials who recently signed a letter pledging full support of Black Lives Matter.
Chen wrote of Ellis in his blog: “Deaths like this will continue to happen unless we undertake the uncomfortable but necessary work to dismantle the institutions and systems that perpetuate racism, violence, poverty and injustice.”
Pierce County residents are now enjoying the freedom afforded in Phase 2, but this is no time to let our guard down. The virus is still active in our community. In the past two weeks, 31,635 county residents were tested with a 6.5 percent positive result. In nearly half the states, cases are increasing.
Peaceful demonstrations are often a prelude to change, but the fight against long-standing systems of injustice won’t be won with a knock-out punch or a few weeks of protest. For real reform to take place, it’s going to take endurance, laser focus and healthy citizens unwilling to back down.