The Sturgis Motorcyle Rally that took place in August in South Dakota led to at least 86 cases of the coronavirus illness COVID-19 in neighboring Minnesota, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a new report.
Researchers used genomic sequencing to trace the spread from the city of Sturgis in western South Dakota where roughly 460,000 bikers gathered for the annual festival that lasts 10 days. Against the advice of public health agencies and health experts, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a Trump supporter who has eschewed recommended coronavirus safety measures, allowed this year’s event to take place despite the likelihood it would be a superspreader event.
Noem continues to oppose the mandating of face masks and bikers were televised gathering closely in large numbers in restaurants and bars without facial coverings.
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The CDC estimates that 51 people from Minnesota who attended the rally were infected, causing another 35 people they came in contact with to contract the illness. Four people were hospitalized and one died, the report found.
About a third of Minnesota’s counties had at least one case that stemmed from the rally. The numbers are likely under-reported because many bikers did not get tested.
“These findings highlight the far-reaching effects that gatherings in one area might have on another area,” said the report. “The motorcycle rally was held in a neighboring state that did not have policies regarding event size and mask use, underscoring the implications of policies within and across jurisdictions.”
A study published in September using cellphone data from the Sturgis rally created a model that suggested it caused more than 250,000 cases of COVID-19.
Minnesota has had at least 270,213 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 3,297 people have died, according to a New York Times tracker. The state averaged 6,654 new cases a day in the past week, a 54% increase from the rate two weeks ago. It has the fifth highest daily case numbers measured on a per capita basis after North Dakota, Wyoming, South Dakota and New Mexico.
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North Dakota has had 72,689 confirmed cases and 846 deaths, or 111 per 100,000 people. Gov. Doug Burgum, a Republican, says the state’s hospital system is at full capacity and has imposed restrictions on movement and mandated face masks indoors and outdoors when North Dakotans are unable to socially distance, after resisting a mandate for months.
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South Dakota has had at least 73,065 cases and 819 deaths, or 93 per 100,000 people.
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A separate CDC report found that Kansas managed to reduce COVID-19 incidence in counties with mask mandates, while those without them continued to experience rising cases. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democate, mandated face masks in July but allowed counties to opt in or opt out.
“After July 3, COVID-19 incidence decreased in 24 counties with mask mandates but continued to increase in 81 counties without mask mandates,” the report found.
The findings are consistent with similar trends in COVID-19 cases observed in 15 states and the District of Columbia, which mandated masks, compared with states that did not have mask mandates, said the report.
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