The District of Columbia has recorded zero new cases of COVID-19 stemming from recent street demonstrations and other public events such as the Fourth of July celebrations, according to newly announced data.
Officials observed a temporary increase in the spread of the disease late in June. However, newly diagnosed cases have not been linked to racial justice protests that erupted in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, in Minneapolis.
In the meantime, approximately 10,000 people got tested for the novel coronavirus in the last two weeks, which is an increase compared to previous weeks.
Mayor Bowser held a press conference on Monday to share the new updates on the pandemic with the public.
Health director Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt and DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, as well as Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and member of the White House’s coronavirus task force, had warned multiple times against mass gatherings as a possible risk of coronavirus exposure.
Several members of the DC National Guard who intervened in the protests had tested positive for the virus.
The city has continued to see a moderate community spread, which has to drop continuously in order for the city to move to Phase 3 of reopening. On June 22, community spread jumped to 37 cases, up from 25 that was reported on June 20, and then went down to nine on June 27.
Contact among household members and during essential activities are considered to be the primary source of coronavirus exposure.
DC is currently in Phase 2 of reopening. Mayor Bowser announced on May 22 that DC Public Schools (DCPS) are set to restart education physically or virtually on August 31.
As of Tuesday, over 10,500 people have been infected in the District, and the virus claimed 561 lives. A total of 33 new positive cases were reported on Sunday, July 5, while two individuals, a 74-year-old female and a 97-year-old female, lost their lives.
You can visit coronavirus.dc.gov/data for interactive data dashboards or to download COVID-19 data.