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鈥淲E ARE STILL IN A PANDEMIC,鈥� Denver Black Lives Matter activist Tay Anderson  on Twitter as he urged everyone who has protested police violence in recent days to join him in getting tested for the coronavirus.

Crowds of people, many maskless and yelling, can pose a health risk to one another in the middle of a pandemic. One of the greatest threats is that people may be spreading the disease before they know they have it. Protesters who may have been exposed to these 鈥渟ilent spreaders鈥� then risk bringing it into their own homes and neighborhoods, putting their friends and families at risk if they don鈥檛 take precautions.

WE ARE STILL IN A PANDEMIC … and disproportionately impacts Black Americans.

I am officially calling on all Denverites that protested this weekend and will this week, to join me this Saturday at 11 am at the Pepsi Center to get a FREE COVID-19 TEST.

— Tay Anderson (@TayAndersonCO)

What can protesters do to protect themselves, their families and their community?

Here are answers to that and other key questions about protesting during a pandemic, from the  at Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo.

The protests are outdoors. Doesn鈥檛 that lower the risk?

As a general rule, . That鈥檚 because the larger air volume disperses the virus, and a larger space facilitates social distancing.

But large protests create unusual circumstances:

鈥� Many people are in close quarters for a prolonged period.

鈥� They鈥檙e agitated and may be chanting or shouting, so聽聽than if they were having a quiet conversation.

鈥� From what we鈥檙e seeing, they might not have protective equipment such as masks and eye protection.

That combination is probably going to negate whatever advantages someone might get from being outside.

This is also a scenario where we don鈥檛 know how many people might be infected in a given crowd. Your community might have a low infection rate, but if it鈥檚 getting , all bets are off.

If I don鈥檛 have symptoms, do I need to worry about infecting my family and friends?

This is part of the problem. You can feel Tony the Tiger 鈥済reat!鈥� and still be infectious.

A person who has the coronavirus  before symptoms develop and up to at least nine days after, based on the limited data we have to date. That鈥檚 a pretty big window.

We think the  is two to three days before symptoms start and a few days after, but we are still learning about this virus. We don鈥檛 even know the 鈥攈ow much exposure is needed before a person becomes infected.

Infected people may also never develop symptoms but still spread the disease.

What鈥檚 the risk of 鈥榮uperspreaders鈥� at protests?

In large gatherings, one person could infect a large number of people.

Normally, someone with COVID-19 could infect between two and six unprotected, susceptible people. But people called superspreaders have infected dozens.

One question is whether any person could become a superspreader if they鈥檙e at the right point in their infection, when they have the maximum viral load and they鈥檙e coughing or shouting in close quarters with other people.

We saw the harm a superspreader can do when an asymptomatic person attended a . Fifty-two of the 61 choir members there that day developed either confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19. Two people died. The choir members had sung together for 2.5 hours.

There鈥檚 always the risk a single person has the potential, put in the right circumstances, to infect large numbers of others鈥攕uch as at a protest.

Can shouting spread the virus farther?

We know that  to infect someone nearby. Exertion and shouting further increase the generation of respiratory secretions, and that鈥檚 typically what goes on at protests.

When people are shouting and getting agitated, they鈥檙e often spitting. That鈥檚 going to increase the likelihood of your getting infected.

You also use more oxygen when you exert yourself, so you breathe more heavily and increase your air exchange to compensate. If your respiratory rate is up, that鈥檚 going to increase your risk of inhaling infectious particles.

What can I do during the protest to stay safe?

Wear a mask and eye protection.

Keep your distance from other people, too. Remember that there鈥檚 . You could be 10 feet away and still get a sufficient dose to be infected if you鈥檙e in the right place at the right time.

Staying to the periphery and upwind of the protest can help, but it doesn鈥檛 guarantee safety. A change in crowd movement and wind direction can suddenly increase your risk.

It鈥檚 hard to protest in an absolutely safe fashion, but if everyone , that would significantly decrease risk.

When I get home from a protest, what should I do to protect my family and friends?

Remember that even if you feel healthy, you could be spreading the virus. If you become infected, you will put everyone in your household and social circle at risk.

Minnesota, the state where  in police custody, is . The Minnesota National Guard also plans to test all its members deployed in response to the protests after one .

But while daily or intermittent testing will identify many people who become infected, access to testing may be limited.

The safest way to protect loved ones is to immediately and religiously wear a mask for three weeks post-protest, given the incubation time and infectious window for this virus, if self-quarantining is not an option.

This article was originally published by . It has been published here with permission.