Self-destructive stupidity knows no gender, no sex
Post# of 123693
Of course not. FRREDOM!!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgis_Motorcycle_Rally
Rallies during the COVID-19 pandemic
Concerns about the possible spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions were expected to lead to lower attendance in 2020.[44] The 2020 final traffic count was about 462,000.
While some health officials and local leaders wanted to cancel the rally, that proved impossible since many events take place beyond the city limits.[45][46] The 250,000 participants were recommended but not required to wear face masks in a state that had seen 9,371 confirmed cases, and 144 deaths due to contraction of COVID-19 (0.016% of the population).[47] Several checkpoints to stop outsiders were put up on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation, an action that state and federal officials consider illegal.[48] The 2020 final traffic count was about 462,000, with many attendees not wearing masks or observing social distancing.[31]
Cell phone data showed that by August 25, 2020, 61% of US counties had been visited by a Sturgis attendee.[49]
As of August 20, 2020, seven COVID-19 cases in the Nebraska Panhandle had been traced to the Rally, and 22 cases had been reported among out-of-state attendees.[50][51] As of August 21, 2020, Minnesota had 15 cases traced to the rally, with more cases expected,[52] and a few cases had been reported in Wyoming.[53] Public health notices were issued for One-Eyed Jack's Saloon, The Knuckle Saloon, The Broken Spoke, and Asylum Tattoo in Sturgis, and for the Bumpin’ Buffalo Bar and Grill in Hill City.[54][55][51][56]
Some exposures in Minnesota could not be traced to specific locations. A Minnesota public health official urged all rallygoers to monitor for symptoms for 14 days, adding that "if you are feeling ill after returning from the event, please get tested and self-isolate while you wait for the test results."[57][58]
By August 24, 2020, there were a total of 76 cases linked to the rally, in four states, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Wyoming, with additional reports of cases in North Dakota and Washington State.[59]
The number rose to 103 on August 24, in at least eight states, including 37 cases in South Dakota, and cases in Wisconsin, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Washington and North Dakota.[60][61] On August 26, 6 cases were reported in New Hampshire.[62] On August 27, over 20 cases were reported in Colorado.[63] Two of the cases reported in Minnesota were people who had been Sturgis event employees or volunteers.[64][60]
On August 27, 2020, the results of mass testing in Sturgis became available. Out of 650 tests there were 26 positive results, all asymptomatic.[65]
As of August 28, 2020, 46 cases in Minnesota had been linked to the rally, including two hospitalizations, with one person in intensive care. An additional cluster of secondary transmission from the rally was identified at a wedding.[66][50][67][58][59][60] The number of infections increased substantially although health authorities suspected the real number could be far higher because many attendees refused to cooperate with contact tracers.[68] On September 2, 2020, the first COVID-19 death related to the 2020 Sturgis rally was reported in Minnesota.[69]
A paper by economist Dhaval Dave and colleagues at IZA Institute of Labor Economics estimated the number of cases that could have been caused by the 2020 rally, at which few attendees wore masks, could have infected 267,000 and result in $12.2 billion in health care costs. [70][71] A partnership between Slate magazine, New America, and Arizona State University, questioned the methodology and thereby contested the findings of the study.
The Slate analysis did find the IZA estimates for Meade County, South Dakota, between 177 and 195 cases, to be consistent with the raw data.[72] South Dakota governor Kristi Noem said the study was "fiction," and an "attack on those who exercised their personal freedom to attend Sturgis...Predictably, some in the media breathlessly report on this non-peer-reviewed model, built on incredibly faulty assumptions that do not reflect the actual facts and data here in South Dakota."[citation needed] State epidemiologist Joshua Clayton stated, "From what we know the results do not align with what we know."[citation needed]
By September 8, 2020, South Dakota reported 124 residents had become ill after attending the rally.[70] On November 20, 2020 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identified 51 people from Minnesota who were infected at the 2020 rally and another 35 who got secondary infections from attendees; four of the 86 were hospitalized and one died.[73] Researchers noted that the actual figures were probably higher since many people who attended the rally refused to speak to them. They also pointed out that the study only involved one state, although rally attendees came from across the country.[74]
Concerns about virus transmission appeared again before the 2021 rally, expected to draw 700,000 visitors.[75] The City of Sturgis planned to make 15-minute self test kits for SARS‑CoV‑2 available during the 2021 rally.[76]