Celebrations for Biden, Harris probably spread coronavirus, Bay Area health experts warn

The impromptu celebrations for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris after the marathon presidential election could very well have harmed the new president’s goal of taming the coronavirus pandemic, Bay Area epidemiologists said.

Corks popped in the Bay Area and across the nation after the two ended President Trump’s four-year reign, but it was pretty clear from television crowd shots that social distancing was not foremost on the minds of the shouting, chanting, singing revelers, some of whom even snuck in hugs and kisses.

“It’s going to be a concern, particularly in situations where alcohol is involved and there is risky behavior,” said Robert Siegel, an infectious-disease specialist at Stanford University, referring to a tendency in crowds not to stay 6 feet apart or, in some cases, wear masks. “Basically the virus doesn’t care what your political persuasion is, so the same rules apply that have applied all along.”