Destruction and violent looting followed a peaceful protest in Rochester Saturday. Now, there are concerns of another potential problem, this one related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I anticipate we’ll see a spike,” says Dr. Emil Lesho, an Infectious Disease Expert with Rochester Regional Health. “I don’t know if it will be significant. It has the potential to be very significant.”

He says the large gatherings may have been a breeding ground for it.

“It’s also easy to forget that the person next to you could be contagious,” he says. “From the health care provider perspective, we’re all concerned it will lead to a spike in cases.”

Joanne Thomas in Greece supports the message behind the peaceful protests but says she’s concerned about the spread of COVID-19. Her father and step father are in a nursing home. She hasn’t seen them for nearly 90 days because of the pandemic.

“What happens if those numbers go up in two weeks?” she asked. “What happens to us? What happens to my Dad?”

She fears a spike could push the timetable for seeing them back even further.

“I agree with them and would love to walk alongside them and protest peacefully,” Thomas says. “But I can’t, and the reason is I have a parent, two parents in a facility that will not allow me to go in because they are protecting them.”

Dr. Lesho says if you are going to attend a protest, you have to maintain social distancing guidelines.

“It’s hard, but try to remember to do it safely,” he says. “Wear a mask. Some of the protesters have. And stay six feet apart, too.”

— 13 WHAM