The City reported that New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio instructed “test and tracers” not to ask anyone who tests positive for the Wuhan coronavirus if they attended any of the protests or riots in response to the death of George Floyd.

De Blasio made this decision despite having concerns the protests and riots could spark another wave and his city being the epicenter of America’s outbreak.

From The City:

The hundreds of contact tracing workers hired by the city under de Blasio’s new “test and trace” campaign have been instructed not to ask anyone who’s tested positive for COVID-19 whether they recently attended a demonstration, City Hall confirmed to THE CITY.

“No person will be asked proactively if they attended a protest,” Avery Cohen, a spokesperson for de Blasio, wrote in an emailed response to questions by THE CITY.

Instead, test-and-trace workers ask COVID-positive individuals general questions to help them “recall ‘contacts’ and individuals they may have exposed,” Cohen said. Among the initial questions: “Do you live with anyone in your home?”

Tracers then ask about “close contacts” — defined as being within six feet of another person for at least 10 minutes.

It’s up to tested individuals to volunteer whether any of those close contacts occurred during protests. “If a person wants to proactively offer that information, there is an opportunity for them to do so,” Cohen wrote.

De Blasio announced the “test and trace” campaign on May 8. NYC officials said most people have cooperated with the tracers, but others “have refused to volunteer any information about their close contacts.”