Over the June 6 weekend, Seattle health care workers protested the death of George Floyd. | Pixabay
Over the June 6 weekend, Seattle health care workers protested the death of George Floyd. | Pixabay
Hundreds of health care workers over the June 6 weekend decided it was more important to protest the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May than to be afraid of contracting the COVID-19 virus.
They gathered together in crowds in Puget Sound with others protesting the killing, King5 reported.
Public health officials conceded the action sends a mixed message.
“People are aware of those inconsistencies and it’s a really difficult message to put out to the public,” Kasey Knutson, with the Kittitas County Public Health Department, told King5.
Health officials in Kittitas County reported a protestor who took part in a weekend protest march in Ellensburg on June 1 and 2 had tested positive for the coronavirus.
The risk to people who gather in crowds is real the report noted. But some said the Floyd incident is more important.
“Racism is more dangerous for the country than COVID-19,” Dr. Ali Mokdad, a researcher at the University of Washington who has been studying the coronavirus, told King5.
A spokesperson for the Seattle/King County Health Department declined to comment on health workers becoming protestors, but referred to a blog at the organization's website.
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