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| - The Red Cross on Thursday called on US authorities and those leading the demonstrations raging across the country to help ensure protesters can gather without fear of sparking fresh coronavirus outbreaks. Protesters have been thronging cities across the United States demanding an end to racism and police brutality ever since George Floyd, an African American man, died after being pinned down by police officers more than a week ago. But in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Red Cross leaders are calling on officials and protest leaders to do more to ensure that the demonstrations can go ahead safely with regard to the COVID-19 virus. "It is about common sense," Francesco Rocca, President of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) told AFP in an interview. He lamented that television images of the protests showed many marching without wearing masks or other protective gear such as gloves, and pressed together is small spaces. "This is a bad signal, of course. And of even more concern in a country that is having this bad impact with COVID-19," he said. The United States remains the country worst affected by the pandemic, counting more than 107,000 deaths -- more than a quarter of the global total. More than 1.8 million people in the country have been infected. Rocca called on protest organisers and leaders to set a good example, and to frequently remind participants of the importance of adhering to basic safety measures like physical distancing and wearing protective gear. "We are not telling anyone not to demonstrate, not to show their frustration in a peaceful manner, but really to protect the others," he said. "When you say black lives matter, that all the lives matter, this is a way to show respect for lives." IFRC's health chief Emanuele Capobianco meanwhile stressed the role of the authorities in facilitating peaceful protests and helping to minimise the risk of virus transmission. "Authorities should try to persuade and to help the demonstrators to do it in a safe way," he told AFP. "We want people to be protected as much as possible. We also want people to be listened to." Rocca meanwhile lamented the difficulty of addressing best practices for containing the coronavirus, be it amid protests or otherwise, without being accused of "politicising". "This is not about politics," he insisted, stressing his organisation's dedication to political and ideological neutrality. Such charges sit loosely when discussing the situation in the United States, but also elsewhere, like in Brazil, where President Jair Bolsonaro has staunchly opposed lockdowns even as numbers of cases and deaths have skyrocketed. "Brazil is at the top of our concern," Rocca said. "Too many are dying, and there are no evident signals that the curve is going to slow down." He stressed that at this time of crisis, it was vital for leaders and others follow the lead of the scientific community. "To speak with one voice in some circumstances is a moral imperative... It is not about politics." At a global scale, Rocca said the IFRC was deeply concerned about the impact of the pandemic in the world's least developed countries, where there are far fewer resources to face the health and economic challenges than in the wealthy nations that have found themselves overwhelmed by the crisis. But he said that when it comes to mental health issues linked to the pandemic, Western countries appeared hardest-hit. This, he said, was likely because populations in Western nations were "less resilient" to deal with the kinds of challenges routinely experienced in less-wealthy countries. He said that many people have, in a matter of weeks, gone from secure, middle-class lives to needing to request food and other assistance to survive. "It has a very strong impact," he said. A growing number of young people especially were struggling with the mental stress of "uncertainty for the future", he said, pointing to surging demands upon Red Cross hotlines offering psychological support. Rocca said the crisis was leaving significant mental scars on individuals and societies. "I think the effects will last for a very long time." nl/rjm
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