Minnesota announced that more than a dozen people attending the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in neighboring South Dakota have tested positive for the coronavirus, making it the third state to link cases of the virus to the massive rally.
One confirmed case linked to the rally, which dragged 460,000 cars, was identified Thursday and 14 additional ones on Friday, said Minnesota Department of Health’s director of infectious disease division Kris Ehresmann.
Ehresmann said during a conference call with news outlets, including NBC branch KARE in Minneapolis, that 14 of those found infected were present at the rally and one was a volunteer who “worked in a temporary bar situation.”
“We expect to see many more cases related to Sturgis,” she said. “Thousands of people have attended that event, so it’s very likely we’ll see more transmission.”
One person who tested positive was admitted to the hospital, according to Ehresmann.
The rally, which ran from Aug. 7 to Aug. 16 in Sturgis, about 30 miles northwest of Rapid City, drew attendees to more than 460,000 cars, the South Dakota Department of Transportation said.
That was nearly 8 percent down from the roughly 500,000 cars at last year’s rally, but significantly higher than the 250,000 people expected to gather for the event this year amid the pandemic.
Minnesota is the third state to report coronavirus cases linked to the enormous gathering.
Earlier this week, South Dakota health officials said a resident who visited one-eyed Jack’s Saloon during the rally tested positive for the virus. The health department warned that anyone who was at the bar on August 11 between noon and 5.30pm that day “had to check for symptoms 14 days after their visit.”
In neighboring Nebraska, at least seven new cases have been linked to the motorcycle rally, according to the Panhandle Public Health District. The health department did not provide further details about the cases.
In North Dakota, the health department urged residents attending Sturgis to check for symptoms of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
“Did you return to ND this week from the 2020 motorcycle rally in Sturgis? Be advised: surrounding states, including South Dakota and Minnesota, report positive rally cases. Monitor yourself closely for symptoms; if you develop one, isolate yourself until you can be challenged, “the agency said tweeted Friday.
A request for comment from North Dakota health officials on the question of whether any cases of coronavirus in the state were linked to the rally received no immediate response Saturday.
