Here’s why COVID-19 spread in Charlotte has nothing to do with the protests — yet

It’s been 14 days since the Charlotte protests against police brutality in the wake of George Floyd’s death began. Those protests also may lead to an increase in the coronavirus, but it’s a little to soon to tell yet, according to health experts.

That’s because there is a two-week incubation period for COVID-19.

North Carolina exceeded 1,000 COVID-19 cases every day this week, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. On Wednesday, DHHS Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen said 780 people were hospitalized, the third consecutive day of record hospitalizations in North Carolina.

Case numbers have been climbing since North Carolina’s phased reopening began in early May.

“Whether that mass gathering is at a raceway or a protest, those are high risk events,” Cohen said in a press conference Thursday.

Dr. David Wohl, an infectious disease expert at the UNC School of Medicine, said any increase in COVID-19 cases as a result of protests would be seen at the earliest in two to three weeks. He said the numbers would not only reflect those infected at protests, but also the people these individuals subsequently infected.

Even in the weeks to come, Mecklenburg County numbers may not be an accurate reflection of COVID-19 cases from Charlotte protests “because people come from all over,” Wohl said.

Melinda Forthofer, chair of UNC Charlotte’s Public Health Sciences department, said there was a “delicate balance” between remaining healthy in the midst of a pandemic and addressing racism in the U.S.

“When people are trying to prioritize, it’s important to understand that the public outcry that is inspiring these protests is addressing another really critically important public health issue,” Forthofer said.

Forthofer and Wohl recommended these steps for people who have attended protests include:

• Watch out for COVID-19 symptoms. The state DHHS has a Check My Symptoms tool on their website.

• Maintain distance from close friends and family.

• Seek out testing, particularly for higher risk individuals, and consult DHHS’s Find My Testing Place tool.

This story was originally published June 11, 2020 at 1:14 PM.