Health workers face anti-lockdown protesters in dramatic photos
Apr 21, 2020, 7:57 AM | Updated: 8:01 am
(CNN) — A small group of health care workers counter protested at a large rally in Colorado demanding the state reopen and ease the restrictions designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
Hundreds of people gathered at the state Capitol in Denver on Sunday, waving flags and protest signs and lines of cars and trucks drove around honking their horns. CNN affiliate KCNC reported there were two separate protests at the Capitol.
Photos and video from the protest showed a small number of workers dressed in scrubs and protective masks standing in a crosswalk blocking the vehicles as a counterprotest.
The workers were not identified.
Health care workers stand in the street in counter-protest to hundreds of people who gathered at the State Capitol to demand the stay-at-home order be lifted in Denver, Colorado, U.S. April 19, 2020. REUTERS/Alyson McClaran MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES
One video of the protest showed a woman in a USA shirt leaning out of the passenger window of a pickup truck and shouting at the health workers. She was holding a sign that said, “Land of the Free”.
“Land of the free. Go to China if you want communism,” she said to the person standing in front of her.
The person did not appear to respond, but other people were yelling in the background.
Colorado has reported 9,730 COVID-19 cases and 420 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Gov. Jared Polis has issued a stay-at-home order that will remain in effect until April 26.
Protesters around the country have rallied against coronavirus restrictions and complained that they infringe on their personal freedoms and threaten to destroy their livelihoods.
More than 97% of the US population is under some sort of a stay-at-home or shelter-in-place order. President Trump has said many states will be able to start reopening on May 1.
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COVID-19 coronaviruses transmitted from person to person. It is a virus that is similar to the common cold and the flu. So, to prevent it from spreading:
- Wash hands frequently and thoroughly, with soap and water, for at least 20 seconds.
- Don’t touch your face.
- Keep children and those with compromised immune systems away from someone who is coughing or sneezing (in this instance, at least six feet)
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- Get a flu shot.
Local resources
Utah’s Coronavirus Information
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Utah Coronavirus Information Line – 1-800-456-7707
National Resources
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Commonly asked questions, World Health Organization
