Kansas protester who didn’t wear mask infected with COVID-19

Health officials are asking everyone who attended a Lawrence protest over the death of George Floyd to monitor for symptoms of the coronavirus after one of the participants tested positive. The Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health said in a news release Friday that the infected person didn’t wear a mask while attending Sunday’s protest, which attracted thousands of people to the downtown.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the person’s sample was taken on Thursday, and health officials were notified of the positive test Friday. The patient disclosed during the contact tracing and disease-investigation process that he was not wearing a mask.

“Similar to what we would ask anyone who goes out in public right now, we are asking anyone who attended the recent protest to self-monitor for COVID-19 symptoms and isolate if they become sick as well as call their healthcare provider for next steps,” Sonia Jordan, informatics director, said in the release.