Masking their faces, but not their support
Virus fears grip Sanders rallygoers
In the crowd of 13,000 at Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders’ Boston Common rally Saturday, some supporters couldn’t shake the fear that they had put themselves in the middle of a political petri dish: a massive public gathering in which they could catch the highly contagious coronavirus.
“There’s a lot of people and you never really know,” said Sanders supporter Merary Estrada, who donned a surgical mask waiting in line on the Common.
Estrada was flanked by her friend, Jinelys Torres, who also wore a mask.
“We’ve heard that there was a case here, and we just want to protect ourselves as much as we can,” Torres said.
Coronavirus fears have escalated among Bay Staters after a patient in Washington state Saturday became the first person in the U.S. to die from the illness. On Feb. 25, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that a patient in the U.S. contracted the coronavirus without knowingly interacting with a contagious person, or traveling to highly infected countries.
Sanders, I-Vt., mentioned the global outbreak at the top of his speech on the Common.
“In the midst of a crisis like the coronavirus, we need a president who believes in science,” Sanders told supporters.
Melrose resident Lisa Lopez bought a surgical mask the day before the rally, hoping to safeguard herself against anyone who may be ill.
“I wore it today because it is a really crowded place. I didn’t want to risk it,” Lopez said. “I felt very strongly about being here, so I thought it would be better to be safe than sorry.”
As of Wednesday, the CDC had identified 61 cases of coronavirus within the United States.