OK, assume COVID 19 deaths are over-counted by a factor of 10. That still means there have been 17,700 deaths from the virus.

I find it very hard to believe that our epidemiologists would be off by full order of magnitude in their estimates of COVID19 deaths, but even if they are, the relative risk from the virus is still vastly larger than from protests.

Also, we need to consider that it isn't just a binary case of if you catch COVID you either recover and are fine, or you die. There is ample and mounting evidence that many people who catch the virus and survive still suffer continuing serious health consequences. For example, a friend of mine was of the very early cases in our area. He was an very aerobically fit guy for his age, but 5 months after he recovered he still suffers significant shortness of breath. We are only beginning to understand the long term effects of this virus!