Top government infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said Friday that the mass protests following the death of George Floyd raise the risk of a surge in coronavirus cases.

“What runs through my mind is … the congregation of large crowds at a time and in an area — a geographic area — where, clearly, there is active infection transmission. It’s a perfect setup for further spread of the virus in the sense of creating these blips which might turn into some surges,” Fauci said in a radio appearance on WTOP.