When tens of thousands of people hit the streets protesting the police killing of George Floyd, many worried that the crowds—often too dense to allow the recommended 6 feet of social distancing—would spark a new wave of COVID-19 cases.

The absence of surges in the cities with massive demonstrations but few other large gatherings has taken many officials and health analysts by surprise.

What’s new in the data about the demonstrations is that social distancing may be much less important, may be not much of a factor at all—at least if the crowds wear masks and the crowding takes place outdoors.

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However, officials emphasize that this review applies only to outdoor activities, not to concentrations of people indoors—and that, even outdoors, masks should still be worn.

Still, Shaman, who advises New York officials on health matters, thinks most purely outdoor events, even large, fairly dense ones, could be held—as long as people wear masks and as long as the people themselves were not in categories of high risk, such as old age or underlying health conditions.