Public protests following the police-involved death of George Floyd in Minneapolis a week ago, hit the streets of Sarnia Monday.
About 30 people gathered outside Sarnia City Hall over the noon hour in a peaceful rally in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The demonstration was to continue into the afternoon with organizers asking those planning to attend to maintain physical distancing rules, and spread out around the Christina Street building.
Protesters gather outside Sarnia City Hall in support of Black Lives Matter. 1 June 2020. (BlackburnNews.com photo by Colin Gowdy)
Mass gatherings around the world, many becoming violent across the United States, have health officials worried about a spike in COVID-19 cases in the weeks ahead. Thousands have disregarded physical distancing over the last several days.
Lambton Medical Officer of Health Dr. Sudit Ranade told Sue Storr on CHOK (103.9 FM, 1070 AM) Monday it's difficult to strike a balance between allowing people to have their voices heard and limiting social interaction.
"On one side there's the very important aspect of peaceful demonstration and making your voice heard," said Ranade. "And yet on the other side of it, as a physician, I would just hate for any of those people who came out with really good intentions and to make an important point, for them to get sick with COVID."
In Canada over the weekend, there were large protests held in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.
Dr. Ranade said physical distancing is hard in those kinds of scenarios.