Minnesota Confirms at Least 15 Cases of COVID-19 Linked to Sturgis Rally
This news should come as no surprise to anyone.
Minnesota Department of Health Infectious Disease Division Director Kris Ehresmann said in the state's COVID-19 briefing today that there are 15 confirmed COVID-19 cases linked to the Sturgis, South Dakota motorcycle rally.
"We know that there were many more people from Minnesota who attended the event, and expect to see additional cases in the coming days," she said, "If you did go to Sturgis it's best to self-quarantine for 14 days upon return."
The rally went from August 7th - 16th and according to traffic reports from around the area that they use to track attendance, traffic was only down about 7.5% from last year, that's still well over 200,000 people that attended the event.
"It sounds like these individuals were attending multiple different events, bars, while they were there," Ehresmann said.
Reports of COVID-19 cases linked to the rally are also coming out of Nebraska, and I'm certain more will be linked over the coming week or so. Officials in South Dakota have said that a tattoo shop worker tested positive, and a person that spent several hours in the One-Eyed Jack's Saloon also tested positive.