“Those rallies and protests are like a buffet for COVID,” said Dr. Calvin Smith of Meharry Medical College.

Smith anticipates a second wave of the coronavirus as the country reels from mass protests following the slaying of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. However, he and other experts call police brutality a public health epidemic itself.

See the video for more from D.C.’s protests and CQ Roll Call health care reporter Sandhya Raman’s interview with Smith.

[ Protests may add COVID-19 cases and compound racial disparities ]