In 2020, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally was linked to 649 COVID19 cases in 29 states, a CDC study said. In 2021, the rally did much the same thing.
The rally draws hundreds of thousands of bikers to tiny Sturgis, South Dakota every year -- half a million in 2020. This year the festivities went from August 6 to August 15.
On August 4, South Dakota had 657 cases. On August 25, it was 3,655. That's a 456% increase.
From July 30 to August 6, the state's positivity rate was 10.38%; the week before, it was 6.10%. By mid-August the rate in Sturgis's home county was 34.2%.
The state's Public Health Department spokesman downplayed the statistics. "Our department has only been able to link 39 cases directly to this event," he wrote CBS in an email.
What about screening visitors for vaccinations? "We're not going to start checking papers. I mean, that's not really an American way," said Daniel Ainslie, Sturgis's city manager.
By the city's estimate, the rally brings in some $1.7 million a year for Sturgis, which has fewer than 7,000 residents.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sturgis-rally-2021-south-dakota-covid-19-cases-surge/
https://www.newscenter1.tv/sturgis-considers-financial-impact-of-rally-closure/
Illustration: "Scream for all your worth" by id-iom is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
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