‘Virus doesn’t discriminate’: Covid-19 cases could surge after UK’s overcrowded BLM rallies, health secretary says

The deadly Covid-19 virus does not discriminate among people, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has warned, reiterating his previous plea to abide by distancing rules even when protesting against racism and inequality.

“I support very strongly the argument that is being made by those who are protesting for more equality and against discrimination,” Matt Hancock told Sky News earlier on Sunday, when asked about his take on the anti-racism protests going on in the UK.

While showing support for the demonstrators’ cause, Hancock warned against spreading Covid-19, “which has already done so much damage, and which we’re starting to get under control.”

The virus itself doesn’t discriminate, and gathering in large groups is temporarily against the rules, precisely because it increases the risk of the spread of this virus.

He said that Britain seems to be winning the battle against Covid-19, adding that the relaxing of more restrictions is in sight. But the success is still fragile as there are “some areas” where the virus reproduction numbers are “a bit higher than elsewhere.”

Thousands took to the streets for massive anti-racism demonstrations across the UK, sparked by the death of black Minnesota man George Floyd at the hands of local police. In London, scores of protesters marched through the downtown, chanting “no justice, no peace” and “black lives matter.”

Once Europe’s coronavirus hotspot, the UK now ranks fourth in the world’s gruesome ranking of hardest-hit countries. It trails behind the United States, Brazil, and Russia, having reported over 286,000 Covid-19 infections and more than 40,500 deaths.

Earlier, a top doctor on President Trump’s White House Coronavirus Task Force, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said the massive protests that swept through the US are a “perfect recipe” for a surge in Covid-19 cases.

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