Football games, protests, political rallies and going back to school: a confluence of mass public gatherings as the summer comes to a close could lead to the increased spread of COVID-19.

“This is not going to be a linear explosion of disease,” said Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association and a former Maryland health secretary. “It will be exponential.”

With more than 5.1 million cases and 164,000 deaths, the United States now has the world’s highest confirmed infections and deaths heading into the fall. Watch as CQ Roll Call health care reporter Andrew Siddons breaks down how upcoming public events could increase transmission of the coronavirus.

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