COVID death related to Sturgis rally

3 years ago

Surprise, surprise. 260 cases spread to 11 states. So far.

First covid-19 death linked to Sturgis Motorcycle Rally reported in Minnesota

Here's the text of the article if you don't want to click on the link:

"A Minnesota biker who attended the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally has died of covid-19 —- the first fatality from the virus traced to the 10-day event that drew more than 400,000 to South Dakota. The man was in his 60s, had underlying conditions and was hospitalized in intensive care for several weeks after returning from the rally, said Kris Ehresmann, infectious-disease director at the Minnesota Department of Health. The case is among at least 260 cases in 11 states tied directly to the event, according to a survey of health departments by The Washington Post.

Epidemiologists believe that figure is a significant undercount, due to the resistance of some rallygoers to testing and the limited contact tracing in some states. As a result, the true scope of infections stemming from the event that ran from Aug. 7 to Aug. 16 is unlikely to ever be known. Public health officials had long expressed concern over the decision to move forward with the annual event, believed to be the largest held anywhere in the U.S. since the pandemic shelved most large-scale gatherings. Now, just over two weeks after the conclusion of the rally, the Midwest and the Dakotas in particular are seeing a spike in coronavirus cases even as infections decline or plateau in the rest of the country. Besides the fallout from Sturgis, Ehresmann and other health officials attribute much of the increase in the Midwest to people not following public health guidelines, not wearing masks and attending social gatherings such as weddings and funerals.

But Sturgis was unique in drawing people from across the nation to one small town, where they crowded into bars, restaurants, tattoo shops and other businesses, many without masks. An analysis of anonymized cellphone data, conducted by a firm called Camber Systems, found that 61 percent of all U.S. counties had been visited by a rallygoer. Those participants then returned home “perhaps to locations that weren’t seeing as much transmission to begin with,” Ehresmann said. “You have the potential to amplify transmission in multiple places. That’s what’s concerning from a broader public health standpoint.”

Of states that have reported rally-related infections, South Dakota has seen the most, at 105. State health officials there put out alerts about three potential covid-19 exposures that occurred while the event was underway, after learning that individuals who had tested positive for the virus had visited Sturgis businesses while infectious."

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Elmer J Fudd

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

You beat me to it. I had to do something else for awhile, I'd selected a portion of the same material to quote from the Wash Post article. The worst of it, to re-quote what you have above:

"Ehresmann and other health officials attribute much of the increase in
the Midwest to people not following public health guidelines, not
wearing masks and attending social gatherings such as weddings and
funerals."

It was to be expected, I'm sure worse numbers are yet to come. South Dakota has had an explosion of cases.

I also read that true tracing for information and protection purposes will not likely be possible. It's a group of folks who prize their outward displays of rebellious attitudes to be a mark of their sub-culture. Too bad for everyone else.

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lily316
3 years ago
I mentioned this at the end of the other covid thread.
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graywings123
3 years ago
An analysis of anonymized cellphone data, conducted by a firm called
Camber Systems, found that 61 percent of all U.S. counties had been
visited by a rallygoer.

This is mind boggling, both because the analysis can be done and because of the spread.
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ci_lantro
3 years ago
In other headline news: Anytown USA, population 400,000 reports 37 cases of Covid today. Tracers have determined that none of the positive cases used public transportation.
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ci_lantro
3 years ago
I was thinking Sturgis lasted for a week but the articles says it was a 10 day event. So, correction--not 37 cases a day but 26 cases a day/ Sturgis.

Milwaukee County, population 946,000--covid positive today: 110 new cases & 4 deaths.
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Lukki Irish
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Not Sturgis, but last night Rachel Maddow talked about a small town in Maine, Millinocket which had no Covid. NO COVID! Then someone got married with a party of about 60ish people by a pastor to lived in another town with no precautions. Now one has died, another is in the hospital, there are outbreaks at the school, the prison, a rest home and so on. The Pastor, who doesn’t believe in the disease knew about the outbreaks on Saturday but had his church sessions on Sunday anyways, preaching about how the left is going to keep people from church...and guess what....

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/trump-camp-misinformation-leads-followers-to-spread-coronavirus-91054661826
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graywings123
3 years ago
The Millinocket ME spread story was shocking. And it was more shocking to hear that the US gov policy seems to be shifting to trying to get to herd immunity vs limiting the virus.
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ci_lantro
3 years ago
I have read that 30-32 (depending on the news outlet) of the 65 people who attended the Millinocket wedding tested positive post event. The person who died did not attend but acquired the virus from someone who did attend. There has been quite a bit of coverage of the story over the last 10 days-2 weeks.

. There have been reports that Dr Scott Atlas, one of over two dozen Coronavirus Task Force members, has promoted a 'herd immunity strategy'. Atlas's response to that charge: “There's news, there’s opinion and then there’s overt lies -- and that was one of those overt lies.” So we have sworn testimony from the accused. Who are the accusers? Are they real people who have taken the stand or are they anonymous sources? If they are anonymous, we don't even know if they are real or if they are fictional characters created to tell a story.

I would be profoundly shocked to learn that the term 'herd immunity' has NOT been used by multiple members of the task force. 'Herdimmunity' is not a dirty word.

There are at least two ways to achieve herd immunity--naturally acquired is one. Vaccine acquired is the other. Herd immunity is a good thing. That is what we should all want because 'limiting' the virus' is like trying to herd cats. You can sedate some of the cats (lockdown) but you can't make them comatose. And you can't sedate all the cats, the trucker cats, the grocery store cats, the health worker cats, the migrant farm worker cats or the rebel cats who are immune to sedation. Sedated cats just move slower but they are still cats.

Somehow over the months, 'flatten the curve' (slow the spread) has morphed into some people thinking that eliminating the spread, eliminating the virus, is a realistic objective. That is wishful thinking because it isn't going to happen.
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beesneeds
3 years ago
One small town? Nope- Sturgis is a far larger event than that. It also encompasses the entirety of the Black Hills National forest, stretches out to Devils Tower and Badlands, includes other local towns like Deadwood, Spearfish, Belle Fourche, and Sundance all the way down through Custer and Hot Springs.

The hotels all along I-90 between Sturgis and Midwest region also gets booked up and those areas packed. Part of the point for a lot of bikers is the ride and trip there and back. Sioux Falls is a big one.

Sturgis isn't just one hot spot to spawn- it likely had a whole bunch of other spots too that aren't necessarily being traced to the event.
maddielee
3 years ago
“And it was more shocking to hear that the US gov policy seems to be shifting to trying to get to herd immunity vs limiting the virus.”

shocking? My bet is that policy will change Nov 4. Schools will close, businesses will shut down.

It’s important to show a strong economy before Nov 3. but the virus is not “political” ...
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ophoenix
3 years ago
Does this explain it?
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Annie Deighnaugh
3 years ago
Coming to a town near you!
chisue
3 years ago
Trump is pleased to bring this kook 'doctor' onto his platform. Atlas has no immunology creds, but says what Trump wants to hear.

Sweden thought they could achieve herd immunity. Major fail.

News today predicts THREE THOUSAND deaths a day up to January...IF we don't mask. Even political mugwump Dr. Brix is now on the masking bandwagon.
ci_lantro
3 years ago
Too early to tell--to come to any conclusions now would be like declaring the game winner during the first quarter of the game.

Wisconsin has a population of less than 6 million. New case count Wednesday was 544; 872 new cases on Thursday, 727 today.

AZ & WA each have a population over 7 million. New cases AZ today--728; Washington cases Wednesday--438.

NYC has averaged about 275 cases per day over the last two weeks.

Sweden has a population of around 10 million and is averaging around 200 new cases a day (past two weeks).
Elmer J Fudd
3 years ago
"Too early to tell--to come to any conclusions now would be like declaring the game winner during the first quarter of the game."

Very true. But it isn't too early to declare who the losers are. It's us, the USA. For reasons all of us know but some don't wish to admit to.

COVID death related to Sturgis rally

Elmer J Fudd

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