David_Puddy said:
HotardAg07 said:
Cases and positive test rate have trended down or flat for the last 1-2 weeks, so I think that's what we've seen.
Gee I wonder why that is? Couldn't have anything to do with the 3+ weeks of no protests in Houston or Austin, where 60k+ people were gathered in close proximity or one another. It's all because they closed the bars and reduced capacity at restaurants.
I'm not an expert or anything, but it seems like a lot of the doctors and contact tracers that are dealing with a high volume of COVID patients are saying that young people in bars and older people exposed to young people in bars seemed to be driving the increase, which is why the recent wave in Texas tended to be younger.
Additionally, it seems pretty clear based on the documented super spreader events that they all happened INDOORS, with long term sustained contact. Studies have shown the virus is 20-300 times less likely to spread outdoors. The protests wouldn't follow that pattern.
Finally, I selfishly hope that the protests didn't cause a spike, because that means we could have large outdoor gatherings such as football games with fans or beach vacations. I hope it proves out that one of our best levers for combating the virus is just being outside more and with our windows open more. If there was documented evidence that the protests were the primary cause of the spike in Texas, that would be a massive blow towards having outdoor sporting events with fans.