Data Shows Protests Did Not Cause COVID-19 Spikes says Andrew Friedson

Published: July 22, 2020

Andrew Friedson, Assistant Professor of Economics, is an author of the recent study, "Black Lives Matter Protests, Social Distancing, and COVID-19,” published by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Using data from Black Lives Matters protests across 315 of America's largest cities, the study found "no evidence" in the following two and a half weeks that they caused a spike in the number of new COVID-19 cases. The team also found "strong evidence" that the protests actually increased stay-at-home overall, likely because non-protesters chose to leave their homes less amid the demonstrations. “We think that what’s going on is it’s the people who are not going to protest are staying away,” said Friedson. “The overall effect for the entire city is more social distancing because people are avoiding the protests.”

 'No Evidence' Black Lives Matter Protests Caused COVID-19 Spike: Study
Newsweek, June 22

The Black Lives Matter protests may have slowed the overall spread of coronavirus in Denver and other cities, new study finds
Colorado Sun, June 30