Worlds Largest Virus Party?

[sackett]

Excuse me, but

We'll know after... when it doesn't affect commerce.
Same as last year.

I was speaking to the grownups.

 

[ZiprHead]

I'm hoping to get a good deal on a Harley in the next few weeks.

 

[dann]

Pennington County saw a steep spike of 112 new cases, just days after the end of the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. The total number of cases in Pennington County is now 363, up from 251. There were 32 new cases reported in Meade County, which now totals 82 cases. Lawrence County saw a jump of 22 new cases from 45 to 67.
COVID Cases Rising In South Dakota (KotaTV, Aug. 17, 2021)

But "the number of persons positive for COVID-19 and number of tests positive for COVID-19 reflect only South Dakota residents, regardless of where testing was conducted (in-state or out-of-state)."

 

[dann]

South Dakota sees the country’s largest two-week COVID surge (Fortune, Aug. 19, 2021)

 

[shemp]

Wearing a mask is so easy even a monkey can do it!

https://twitter.com/RexChapman/status/1430178718979432452

 

[dann]

Reported Covid cases in South Dakota have quadrupled in the last two weeks. (NBC News Graphics on Twitter, Aug. 24, 2021)

 

[dann]

Wearing a mask is so easy even a monkey can do it!

https://twitter.com/RexChapman/status/1430178718979432452

And toddlers!

 

[carlitos]

Reported Covid cases in South Dakota have quadrupled in the last two weeks. (NBC News Graphics on Twitter, Aug. 24, 2021)

I’ll see your quadruple and raise to a quintuple.

South Dakota Covid cases quintuple after Sturgis motorcycle rally

Two weeks after the annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, reported Covid infections in the state have risen nearly sixfold.

South Dakota counted 3,819 new cases in the past two weeks, including seven deaths, up from 644 cases in the 14 days preceding it. That makes it the state with the largest percent increase in Covid cases in the past two weeks.

 

[dann]

And the population of South Dakota is only 885,000.

 

[dann]

Well, the surge comes after health officials there were seeing some of the lowest numbers since the pandemic began. Monument Health, a hospital group in the southwestern part of the state, was even getting ready to declare its first day of zero COVID patients.
(...)
Dr. Kurra, welcome.
SHANKAR KURRA: A pleasure to be here, Mary Louise.
KELLY: How bad is the COVID situation where you are? What are you seeing in your hospitals?
KURRA: Yes. Like you pointed out, it is very dire. We are full. The ICU is full, and the numbers are rising. So at one point in June, we just had three COVID inpatients. And now we're at 77. So that is a dramatic increase. And we saw that increase only towards late July. And then the dramatic increase began immediately after the rally.
The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Set Off A Surge Of COVID Cases In South Dakota (NPR, Aug. 27, 2021)

I guess it will take some time before we hear about how it has spread from Sturgis to the rest of the country.

 

[dudalb]

One ie reminded of a certain Edgar Allen Poe story.....

 

[DevilsAdvocate]

And the population of South Dakota is only 885,000.

Not for long. Har har har.

 

[dann]

Anti-Vaxxers Learn Truth The Hard Way (Rebel HQ, Sep 8, 2021)

 

[dann]

Not just Sturgis:

The nine Coachella Valley cities saw an increase in COVID-19 cases in the week ending Tuesday just as thousands of festivalgoers from all over the world gathered for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
The nine cities reported 193 new cases in the week ending Tuesday. That is a 77% increase from the previous week, when there were 109 cases reported between April 5 and 12.
(...)
County spokesperson Jose Arballo Jr. told The Desert Sun there is "always a concern" for potential COVID-19 spread whenever there is a large gathering, but the hope is that festivalgoers are largely vaccinated and will opt to wear facial coverings.
A majority of attendees observed, however, were not wearing masks on the grounds during Weekend 1.
COVID-19: Coachella Valley cases up 77% following first weekend of Coachella (Desert Sun, April 19, 2022)

The nine Coachella Valley [cities] earlier this week reported 193 new cases in the week ending Tuesday. That was a 77% increase from the previous week, when there were 109 cases reported between April 5 and 12. The spike coincided with the first weekend of the music festivals. The second weekend kicked off Friday and runs through Sunday.
By Friday, at least two acts had to cancel their Coachella sets due to positive COVID-19 tests.
COVID-19: Hospitalizations up, cases down slightly in Riverside County since Tuesday (Desert Sun, April 22, 2022)

Well, at least they are still testing ...