"The demonstrations have spurred fears that they could cause a deadly resurgence of the coronavirus."

"And for those sympathetic to a growing movement, deciding whether to attend protests has been complicated: Some people have avoided them entirely, reasoning that the chance of contracting the coronavirus in a crowd is too high. Others have joined despite the risks.... No one has studied the precise dynamics of how the virus may be transmitted under the mix of conditions that prevail at mass protests. And because of delays between exposure to the virus and the start of symptoms, and then hospitalizations and deaths, the impact of the protests on virus spread will not be known for several weeks.... Yelling, shouting and singing can increase how far those droplets are projected. Crowds and the length of time an uninfected person is near someone who is infected also increase the risk of transmission.... Black people were already suffering from a disproportionate number of coronavirus infections; now many members of their communities are protesting the death of Mr. Floyd.... [P]ublic health experts emphasized that police violence against black people in America also represents a public health crisis."

From "Protests Draw Shoulder-to-Shoulder Crowds After Months of Virus Isolation/Much of the country stayed inside, separated, as a way to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Now protests are creating crowds, threatening a resurgence" (NYT).

I would add that the protests have changed the politics of emerging from the lockdown. There had been a partisan split, with those on the left demanding far more caution and hesitation and those on the right stressing freedom and getting back to work. But with the protests, many people on the left wanted to get right out there into the streets, into the crowds, and they just did it. Maybe some people on the right wanted to say they ought to be more careful and prioritize safety. That mixed up the politics very quickly and very thoroughly.

I hope what we learn is that the virus is not that contagious and not that dangerous or that in any case, for whatever reason, it is withdrawing. And I hope that the peaceful, earnest protesters outnumber and overwhelm the agents of chaos and that some rational, practical, constructive solutions can come to light.