The mayor of a small town in South Dakota says he crosses his fingers that people behave responsibly, as up to 250,000 descend on his city of 7,000 for an annual motorcycle ride.
Mark Carstensen, mayor of Sturgis, South Dakota, said he intended to encourage ‘personal responsibility’.
He said his team had set up sanitation stations and provided masks – although face covering was not required.
“We can not stop people from coming,” he told CNN on Thursday, ahead of the annual event that has been running for 80 years.
Health officials still warn against even small gatherings, and states with relatively low spreads – such as South Dakota – order visitors from hot spots to self-quarantine.
However, there are no restrictions for the start of the 10-day jamboree.
Sturgis, South Dakota is set to welcome 250,000 people to a motorcycle rally this weekend
Motorcyclists are pictured on Saturday heading to Sturgis, South Dakota, for a rally
The annual event, now in its 80th year, draws 250,000 people to the city of Sturgis
The motorcyclist event is estimated to bring $ 1.3 million into the annual economy
An estimated 250,000 people gather in South Dakota before setting out to explore the region
Concerned residents say officials should cancel the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
Kristi Noem, the Republican governor, opposed orders to stay at home and mask rules, and he expected another mass event last month, President Donald Trump’s speech at the foot of Mount Rushmore over the weekend of July 4th.
A city survey found that more than 60 percent of Sturgis residents wanted to postpone the event, the Associated Press reported.
“This is a huge, foolish mistake to make to host the rally this year,” Linda Chaplin, a Sturgis resident, said in a message to city councilors earlier this summer.
‘The Sturgis government needs to take the most care of its citizens.’
“My grandmother is absolutely scared because she has diabetes and is in her 80s and has lupus,” another resident told CNN.
“If she gets it, it’s a death sentence.”
The incident, in the Black Hills of South Dakota, is very important to the local economy, and last year brought in $ 1.3 million in city and state tax revenue, according to the Argus Leader.
A letter from a mayor reviewing Sturgis describes how the city ‘comes alive’ with half a million visitors during a typical August rally, suddenly transformed into ‘the largest community in the state’ with concerts and races.
On June 15, city council members voted 8 to 1 to continue with the motorcycle rally – albeit without the usual seats in a plaza.
Carstensen told CNN on Thursday that holding the rally “has been a difficult decision”.
He noted that the city will expand a program to provide supplies to the homes of people who are concerned about the virus.
But there are no quarantine recommendations for cyclists from hot spot states, the mayor said, and leaders just hope people make the right choices. ‘
Visitors have already flocked to the Black Hills amid the pandemic, he said.
“We hope people come,” Noem said of the motorcycle rally.
“Our economy benefits when people come and visit us.”
A man is preparing to drop off his motorcycle in South Dakota on Saturday
A woman is advised to ride her Harley Davidson in Sturgis, South Dakota, on Saturday
A dog rides a motorcycle through downtown Deadwood, South Dakota on Saturday
A motorcyclist is pictured in Main Street, Sturgis, on Saturday before the rally
Trump supporters proudly expressed their loyalty to the rally in South Dakota on Saturday
Up to 250,000 people are expected at the South Dakota rally, pictured on Saturday
Cyclists from across the United States have descended on South Dakota for the annual rally
Up to 250,000 people are expected in South Dakota for the annual jamboree in Sturgis
Name explained ‘herd mentality’ and said that restrictions on coronavirus were not right for their rural state.
“South Dakota is not New York City,” she said.
A pork processing plant in South Dakota soon became one of the country’s largest coronavirus clusters in the spring – but cases eventually dipped and the sparsely populated state did not break daily records this summer like many Southern and Western states.
Average new daily cases reported in South Dakota have risen in recent weeks, but remain below 100, and the state records an average of one or two deaths from covid-19 per day.
The state health department reported 106 new cases on Saturday.
There have been 9,300 cases and 146 deaths in the state, which has a population of 885,000 people.
Benjamin Aaker, president of the South Dakota State Medical Association, told CNN on Thursday that he was worried – but insisted the rally could be kept safe if people followed recommendations such as social distance, hand washing and wearing masks.
“It’s already here,” he said of the coronavirus.
‘But will it get any worse with an event like this?
“If we do not take those proper precautions, it will.”
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