Even though officially Chicago's annual Pride Parade has been canceled due to Covid-19 concerns, massive crowds nevertheless gathered on Sunday in the Lakeview neighborhood and marched Uptown to “reclaim Pride.”

Aerial  footage of the packed event has drawn much criticism from those opposing the harsh lockdown measures, and the apparent double standards in enforcing them. Local authorities and mainstream media were blasted for closing their eyes or even ‘encouraging’ particular gatherings, while painting the rest as a dangerous breach of social distancing.

Some tried to ridicule the critics, however, insisting that the law-abiding participants of the march were all wearing masks, and arguing that the risk of contracting the virus outdoors is much lower.

Crowded mass protests against racism and police brutality sparked in hundreds of cities by the death of George Floyd have probably played some role in the recent jump in cases, with demonstrators largely defying social distancing guidelines.

Media coverage of the rise in infections, however, has focused almost exclusively on those gathering at bars and beaches (as well as Trump rallies and anti-lockdown protests), while virtually ignoring the massive BLM marches as a potential factor.

Though some of the recent increases may be explained by ramped-up screenings for the virus, some health experts have cautioned that a boost in testing does not account for the full spike, arguing that outbreaks are, in fact, accelerating.

To date, the virus has killed over 125,000 people in the US, roughly a quarter of the global death toll of 500,000, and there are fears that the spike in new infections could undo a falling trend in fatalities.