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What’s Next: COVID-19 podcast – (Ep. 20) George Floyd

(photo by Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

The death of George Floyd highlights “the continuing use of unnecessary and excessive force by police officers and the extent of racism” in our society – but it is also connected to COVID-19, says Vivek Goel, the University of Toronto’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives, and a professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

“He died because he was strangulated by a police officer,” says Goel. “But certainly the pandemic and the lockdown measures contributed to the circumstances of his death.”

In episode 20 of his podcast on the pandemic, Goel – a renowned public health expert and founding head of Public Health Ontario, which was set up in response to the 2003 SARS outbreak – discusses the social determinants of health and the impact on racialized communities of both the pandemic and the public health measures enacted to slow the spread of the virus.

COVID-19: What’s Next? is a bi-weekly podcast created by Goel in collaboration with a University of Toronto Communications team led by producer Lisa Lightbourn.

Note: The information in this podcast is current as of the posting date. Listeners should consult their local public health agency for the latest information in their jurisdiction.

See a complete list of all the podcast episodes

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