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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHow much impact could Sturgis rally have on COVID caseload?
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) Rumbles from the motorcycles and rock shows of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally have hardly cleared from the Black Hills of South Dakota, and the reports of COVID-19 infections among rallygoers are already streaming in 178 cases across five states, according to contact tracers.
In the three weeks since the rally kicked off, coronavirus cases in South Dakota have shot up at a startling pace sixfold from the early days of August. While it is not clear how much rallygoers spread the virus through secondary infections, state health officials have so far reported 63 cases among South Dakota residents who attended the event.
The epicenter of the rally, Meade County, has become red-hot with new cases, reaching a per capita rate that is similar to the hardest-hit Southern states. The county reported the highest rate of cases in the state over the last two weeks, according to Johns Hopkins researchers.
The Black Hills region's largest hospital system, Monument Health, warned Friday that it has seen hospitalizations from the virus rise from five to 78 this month. The hospital was bracing for more COVID-19 patients by converting rooms to intensive care units and reassigning staff.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/sturgis-rally-clears-covid-cases-134152369.html
ProfessorGAC
(65,001 posts)...South Dakota is still very far from the huge spike they had in Nov-Jan last year.
Then, they had 30 straight days where cases were very near 1,000 to much higher. The high point of 7 day moving averages was 1,536. Yesterday, the 7 day MA was 339.
It's up a lot from a month ago, but nothing like 9 months ago.
Death rate is still very low. Back in that peak period, they had several days where the 7 day MA was 22 or higher.
It's now less than one.
I think a lot more of those Sturgis goers were vaccinated, although many wouldn't admit it.
Or, they went home and are statistics in some other state.
Pretty tricky to determine the actual impact of an event that draws from the whole country.
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/usa/south-dakota/
2naSalit
(86,569 posts)Spread it far and wide as they went home making it some other state's problem.