The Rev. Shane Harris, the local civil rights activist with People’s Alliance for Justice, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
Harris said he found out he was positive on Thursday, one day after he spoke at a press conference near two burned-down banks in La Mesa, briefing the public about the protests for social justice and reform that are happening around the country.
Harris had returned from a trip to Minneapolis to visit with the family of George Floyd, the Minnesota man who was killed by a police officer on Memorial Day and whose death sparking the protests.
“The whole trip, during all my travels, I took proper precautions,” said Harris, 28, from an apartment in downtown San Diego where he said he will be quarantining for the next 14 days.
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Harris said he is not sure where he contracted the virus, but that he has been on the front lines since mid-March when concerns about the spread of coronavirus first started to emerge, working with colleagues to provide food and other essential needs for senior citizens around San Diego County.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, I’ve been washing my hands, practicing social distancing and I’ve been wearing double masks,” he said. “On the plane, I was in first class and alone in my row.”
There is no report on whether any of Floyd’s family members have tested positive for the coronavirus, but an autopsy on George Floyd shows that he had tested positive for COVID-19. He said that fact alone calls for a bigger conversation, about people who were in the car with Floyd and the police officers at the scene.
“We don’t know where that might have spread,” he said.
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Harris said the state of Minnesota and the city of Minneapolis have been “out and open about people not wearing masks” and that hundreds of people at the memorial he attended for Floyd were hugging, and because of that, Harris said he was “extremely careful.”
A photo showing Harris standing close to Floyd’s brother, Terrence, shows Harris with his mask falling down, but he said the distance between the two is deceiving and that he purposely stayed away from the Floyd family members because of the pandemic.
“There were people who stayed closest to him the whole trip, but I wasn’t near him,” Harris said. “He was sheltered with very specific people.”
Harris said he will be watching from afar as the protests in San Diego County and around the country continue, and said he encourages people to maintain social distance and wear masks during the protests, and to wash their hands often. He said he agreed with County Public Health Officer Dr. Wilma Wooten that everybody protesting needs to get tested for the coronavirus and to call 2-1-1 to make an appointment.
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“Obviously, at this moment in history, everybody has got to dig deep and look at the long-term plan,” he said. “I encourage people to understand that this is a serious moment, that activists and organizers have to understand that we have got to follow as much as possible the public health order.”
He thanked the county’s Health and Human Services department for placing him in an apartment so he could quarantine for the next two weeks, since he has roommates and was not going to be able to isolate safely.
While self-isolating, Harris said that he will be getting sun since “this thing doesn’t like the heat” and “doing everything I can to clear the inflammation” including upper respiratory exercises " so i can make sure keep my lungs stay as clear as possible,” as well as eating mostly vegetarian fresh food, taking extra Vitamin C and drinking spring water with lime.
“As I am in shut down, I will be staying in the context of what I’m usually doing,” he said. “Sitting down and really strategizing, reading, seeking knowledge and studying in regard to where I’m trying to go and what my next steps are going to be.”
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He said he will continue to have daily briefings and hold updates on social media and that his group, the People’s Alliance for Justice, will meet online through Zoom and hold virtual town halls, looking to “help younger, newer activists organize so they understand the seriousness of this, to keep discussing police reform measures together.”
Harris said that he wants to keep imparting wisdom and advice to those involved with the protests, helping them organize and to “make sure they keep this pandemic at the forefront,” and said he was disappointed that he has seen people shaming others for either contracting the virus or wearing masks.
“This is a very serious virus and we all understand that,” Harris said. “But there is something going around the country called ‘mask shaming’ that is people making fun of people wearing masks, making people feel uncomfortable. And then the ‘COVID-19 shaming,’ where I have seen this very nasty kind of demeanor for people when they find out someone tests positive.
“This mentality -- like people holding others accountable for something they are not responsible for. This is something we all are dealing with. We’re in a pandemic where there is mass spread. I’ve been on the front lines and this is something that comes with being on the front lines. Brash shaming is not the way we solve things.”
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Harris said he’s not overly concerned about having the coronavirus. “I am OK and I can recover well,” he said.
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June 06, 2020 at 09:26AM
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Local leader Shane Harris tests positive for coronavirus, quarantining for 14 days - The San Diego Union-Tribune
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