How does the media, and the fact-checkers get away with propagating the narrative the protests do not spread COVID-19? By very careful phrasing.
In essence, yes the protesters did spread COVID to each other, but because everyone else stayed home out of fear of the riots, that offset the overall spread in the following weeks. What do you think happened when everyone who was staying at home eventually returned to going out and started once again interacting with people who went to the protests? Obviously the people who got COVID during the protest continued to spread it to everyone else, and now, after the delay due to the riots, we see a spike.
The other possibility is that interactions outside simply do not transmit COVID effectively. As many including the CDC have suggested, you need extended close contact indoors in order to transmit the virus. Then why is the media shaming beach goers, or other types of protests?
