Pandemic

The Sturgis Superspreader Event

Sturgis attendees will seed the COVID-19 virus throughout the US.

When future historians look back at the COVID-19 pandemic, they will point to the annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota as the largest superspreader event in the US.

Every year for the past 80 years, motorcycle enthusiasts have gathered in Sturgis for 10 days of concerts, camaraderie, and partying. This year, due to the pandemic and the dangers of gathering in large groups, 60 % of the townspeople of Sturgis wanted to cancel the event. The city council went against the wishes of the people who elected them and gave the go-ahead for the rally.

Preparations were made to try and keep the residents safe. Masks were handed out, grocery deliveries were set up, and the local hospital prepared for an onslaught of coronavirus cases. In that area of the country, the population skews older, so they are at higher risk of contracting and dying from the virus.

250,000 bikers showed up this year, most without masks or any inclination to social distance. Many openly boasted that they didn’t care about the virus or thought that it was a hoax. Attendees at the rally also skew older and are also at higher risk of contracting and dying from the virus.

Motorcyclists come from all over the country to attend this event. Statistics tell us that out of those 250,000 people, there is certainly a number who were already infected when they arrived. They then spread the virus to the rest of the attendees in the crowded campgrounds, bars, and concert venues.

There has been much handwringing about the spread of the virus among the attendees, as well as the residents of the town of Sturgis. And while that may be true, I think that the bigger concern is when the bikers leave the rally and return home, bringing the virus with them.

Think of it like dandelions in your lawn. You have a few pesky dandelions. Then the wind blows the seeds from those few plants all over your lawn. Suddenly you have dandelions springing up all over your lawn and your neighbors’ lawns.

That’s how the virus will spread. Each motorcyclist who became infected at the rally will ride home and start spreading it to their family, friends and co-workers. If they refused to wear masks or social distance at the rally, I doubt very much that they will quarantine when they get home. They will essentially be “seeding” the virus all over the US, in towns big and small.

The rally ends Sunday, August 16. In the following two weeks we can expect to see a sudden rise in infection hotspots around the country, each of them traceable to a biker who attended the rally in Sturgis.

It will be the largest superspreader event of the pandemic here in the US. And one that could have been prevented except for the selfishness of both the city council of Sturgis for allowing the rally to happen and the people who insisted on attending the rally without masks or social distancing.

It’s really too bad that none of them can be prosecuted for murder.