Does Protesting Lower The Risk For Testing Positive For Wuhan Flu? -- The Minnesota Experience -- June 15, 2020

On May 30, 2020, I wrote:

Mark these dates -- June 14 - June 21.

The Minneapolis riots broke out the night of May 28. On May 29, sympathetic riots broke out in NYC, Los Angeles, Dallas, other cities. These folks -- all of whom were wearing masks, of course -- were not practicing social distancing. Let's see if that affects the number of cases. The increase in deaths, if there are any, might not show up until a couple of weeks later. But certainly by the end of June we should have a good idea if the riots made the corona virus pandemic worse in the cities that were affected.

The early numbers are in. It appears protesters have a significantly lower rate of testing positive for Wuhan flu than the general public. Despite:

• lack of any social distancing;
• coughing and sneezing due to tear gas;

From the internet, (google for source):

Coronavirus testing of more than 1,300 people who protested Minnesota’s Twin Cities after the death of George Floyd shows few new positive cases, according to a report.

Health officials across the country have expressed fear the mass protests over the black man's death in police custody that have taken place over the past two weeks could lead to new outbreaks of the virus.

But those fears haven’t been borne out in Minneapolis and St. Paul, as of yet, based on early test results, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported Saturday.

So far, more than 3,300 protesters have shown up to be tested and of that number, 40 percent -- or about 1,300 -- have gotten their test results back.

The paper reported that of that number only about 1.4 percent tested positive for the virus, the paper reported.

That’s lower than the 3.7 percent positivity rate reported Friday of 13,000 test results statewide, the paper reported. It is also lower than the current seven-day average rate of positive tests, which also stands at 3.7 percent.

Lower than 3.7%? I would say significantly lower than the general population -- almost half what the general population is testing, and the general population is testing well below what Dr Faust projected.

And apparently:

• no deaths:
• no ICU admissions:
• no emergency room visits for cough and fever;
• no hospitalizations;

Had there been any, I'm sure we would have heard about them by now. 

As of yesterday, Minnesota ranked #20 among the US states for "new cases." Overall, Minnesota ranks 20th among all states (and DC) for total number of cases, and ranks below the USA average for total number of cases per capita.

Now, think about this: on average, across the state of Minnesota, folks are testing positive at about a rate of 3.7%. The folks being tested, in general, are those already suspected of having the virus, or at high risk for some other reason (such as history of exposure). Remember: testing kits have been in short supply and testing was "rationed." And with all that, only 3.7% came back with a positive test.

I don't know what to make of that, but it certainly seems perplexing.