Hawaii Health Official Says Protests Caused Coronavirus Spike

Hawaii healthcare official Lieutenant Governor Josh Green said the state's recent increase in coronavirus cases is the result of Black Lives Matter demonstrations that took place earlier this month.

On Thursday, the Hawaii State Department of Health announced 18 new COVID-19 cases. Green said the spike in numbers was caused by two protests in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

A group of roughly 2,000 people marched through Waikiki on June 5, and another estimated 10,000 demonstrators gathered at Ala Moana and marched together to the state capitol the next day. The uptick in Hawaii's coronavirus figures came nearly two weeks after.

"Eighteen new cases today and it's in effect the result of the protests. And then of course there's a small surge at a nursing facility, so the combo is 18 cases," Green told KHON2. "You have to expect these small surges if people do end up out-and-about without significant social distancing."

"My hope has always been to add only one significant variable at a time since we opened restaurants — and that we knew would have some small increase. But I'm not going to criticize people for exercising their freedom of speech, their right to gather together and to protest injustice," he added.

While the timing of the protests coincided with the state's first phase of reopening, Green commended Hawaii's generally low coronavirus figures. He also said the healthcare facilities across the state are well-equipped with sufficient ICU beds and ventilators to handle the virus.

Hawaii has reported 750 confirmed cases and 17 deaths over the course of the pandemic.

While Green is hopeful the spike in numbers will be short-lived, he said safety measures must remain in place even if cases decrease.

"There are going to be moments where we have surges but I would be super mindful that we don't have a consistent surge that would jeopardize our health," he said. "Being careful is the key and I will put every protocol in place to reduce the risk. But that still could spread here between us when we're being carefree."

Newsweek reached out to Green for comment, but did not hear back before publication.

There has been speculation on whether the protests will affect the spread of COVID-19 as images of protesters gathering in large demonstrations across the country emerged following the case of George Floyd, a Minneapolis man who died in police custody after an officer knelt on Floyd's neck for several minutes.

However, there has not been any direct correlation made between protests and coronavirus in the cities that have seen weeks-long demonstrations.