As people have gathered to protest in the wake of the death of George Floyd while in the custody of Minneapolis police, the coronavirus pandemic has almost become an afterthought for many as local governments deal with the threats to public and private property and the public’s safety.

The protests have amounted to large crowds of people, often in a confined space, who are not adhering to social distancing guidance nor wearing a mask.

Friday on Alabama Public Television’s “Capitol Journal,” State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris said the protests were a health concern but also acknowledged the importance of the public exercising its rights to gather and protest.

“I think from a public health standpoint when we see large numbers of people getting out together, we have concerns about disease transmission,” he said. “Now, that said, we understand the right people have to gather and to protest, the need or even the obligation to do that. I’m certainly not being critical of that at all.”

“And yet, at the same time large numbers of people who are not practicing social distancing, who are speaking loudly or maybe yelling, and standing close together, who aren’t wearing face masks in many cases — those are the ways we know this disease gets transmitted,” Harris continued. “I think we’re a little worried about what the numbers may look like over the next couple of weeks.”

@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly and host of Huntsville’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 2-5 p.m. on WVNN.