This year, the city of 7,000 people expects about 250,000 people at the turnaround.
“Like in most years, the opening weekend is very busy,” said Christina Steele, spokeswoman for the city. “Normally, the number of visitors is likely to peak around Wednesday and will then start to decrease.”
The local hospital system, Monument Health, has added 172 “Covid beds” in preparation for the rally, according to Mark Schulte, market president for Monument Health. The hospital system is also ready to offer 1,300 Covid-19 tests to anyone who is asymptomatic but is concerned about the disease after the end of the rally, Schulte said.
‘A big party’
Officials are worried that social distance will not be possible given the large crowds. The event, which began as a small gathering of enthusiasts in the late 1930s, stretches for miles outside the city and brings in thousands of tourists and dozens of vendors from across the country each year.
“They will not be able to deal with any kind of social distance. There is a significant amount of alcohol involved. It is an enormous party,” said Laura Armstrong, president of the City Council in Rapid City, the largest city near Sturgis. “They can enforce our Native American people, our law, potentially our bar staff, our tourist attractions, our hotels and motels, and even our groceries.”
The overall cases of coronavirus are low but increasing in South Dakota. But the state’s test positivity rate is between 8 and 9%, above the World Health Organization’s recommendation of 5% or lower for at least 14 days before opening. But South Dakota is never closed, so the rally will not break any laws.
Dr Carlos del Rio, a professor of infectious disease at Emory University, said he did not worry about the rally itself, as most of it will be outside.
“It’s not the actual motorcycle rally, but what happens next,” he said. “People go to restaurants, they go to bars, they go to places together, so the risk of transmission is not really the rally, but what happens after the rally, when people go home.”
He said he worries about every major gathering, whatever the reason, during a pandemic, but especially about the motorcycle rally, because it attracts people from all over the country.
“I think, I’m very worried that this event could potentially be a disaster,” he said. “Not only could there be a lot of transmission there, but a lot of people could get infected there and return to their home states and take over the virus there.”
‘Drive free, take risks’
On the Sturgis Buffalo Chip, a massive campground that spans 600 acres, owner Rod Woodruff says he has no worries about the rally.
“Ride free, take risks. That’s our motto,” he said. “That does not mean you do not calculate them. And these people calculate their risks every time they get on a motorcycle.”
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem says that in order to hold events like the rally, people need to get information that can protect their health but still enjoy their lifestyle. Woodruff agrees with that sentiment.
But Sturgis Mayor Mark Carstensen has expressed frustration over the fact that the event is allowed to continue during the pandemic.
“It’s shown what the city of Sturgis can do. We can not stop people from coming,” Carstensen told CNN ‘New Day’ on Thursday. “We’ve already had an enormous number of visitors.”
Carstensen said that although masks will not be required, the city will provide sanitation stations and ask attendees to follow CDC guidelines.
“Again, back to personal responsibility. We encourage people to stay, you know, social distance as much as possible. Stay with your pods of people you already interact with. Just be respectful of others,” Carstensen said.
But when the city surveyed its residents earlier this year, 60% said they preferred the event not to be held at all.
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