Sturgis Motorcycle Rally...HUGE Crowds expected

[MillauFr]

Maybe they will discover that inhaling motorcycle exhaust kills the virus and it will be the new cure. (I’m kidding. I’m actually livid that people are going to be bringing COVID back to their communities.)

Just add a little bleach before you fill the tank and I think you are on to something there. Plus there is quite a bit of UV light in Sturgis this time of year.

 

[Christine]

Just add a little bleach before you fill the tank and I think you are on to something there. Plus there is quite a bit of UV light in Sturgis this time of year.

Hopefully it's a LOT better than that UV light in Florida.

 

[KayMichigan]

Yup. Be on the lookout 4-6 weeks from now for articles with titles like “I thought COVID-19 was a liberal hoax until I caught it at Sturgis.”

Followed by pleas from those infected to wear a mask and take the virus seriously. Everybody who's been interviewed after catching COVID has said the same thing: You do NOT want to catch this virus. It messes you up in ways you can't imagine.

The fact that there are masses of people in Sturgis being deliberately careless with the attitude of "Eh, if I catch it, so what, at least I'm having fun now" is mind boggling. We'll see if they feel that way as they're being put on a ventilator, or watching a loved one die by remote on an iPad because they infected them and it's too dangerous for them to be there in person.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I'm not going nor would I ever go. But I do think it is a very slippery slope when you begin to try to say which events are allowed and and which aren't.

By the way, USA Today reported that the top three professions of attendees are doctors, lawyers, and accountants. That was reported because apparently, in years past, the event used to be more rowdy but has tamed over the years because many of the attendees would have career-ending consequences with a criminal record.

My mom's CPA (had been for over 25 years before she retired) went yearly to Sturgis. Yeah you'd be surprised who visits those. Sitting in her office you'd had no idea she rode a motorcycle decked out in leathers and attended a yearly biker rally.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

It's certainly not advisable to go. I get the economic side of the rally but like many other large events it probably should have been cancelled a while back. Largely it's not the outside part though not wearing masks would be a point of concern but it's def. the inside portion. Some events have been able to go on (though not nearly as many people expected for sturgis) with heavy modification but it doesn't appear that they did much for that at all. Not only that but it's a long event too. Some of the events I've seen that still went on were either for a day or a weekend not a week and a half's worth of constant worry. Not only that but it's far into the incubation period too.

 

[longboard55]

The good news is between Sturgis and open Georgia schools we are getting real testing on how the no mask no distance theory works or will not work. I look at those sturgis folks and they sure look like the high risk category.

 

[Dan Murphy]

between Sturgis and open Georgia schools

Real time laboratories.

 

[a1tinkfans]

Hope the people that LIVE there, non business owners who apparently wanted the rally, stayed home to avoid it all.

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

And this (bolded) is exactly the problem. Covid doesn’t magically know the purpose of a mass gathering and decide to stay away. And that is why people are sick and tired of leaders and the media encouraging protests and riots while scolding everyone else when they decide to gather en masse. It makes them look like big flaming hypocrites.

I like how you bold one sentence from my post but ignore the rest. The part where I said I still thought protests were a bad idea. I admit maybe I phrased it wrong, and I do agree that the media doesn’t scold the protesters like they scold people attending other gatherings. But an outdoor protest where a large number (large, but like I said before, not all) attendees are wearing masks IS different than Sturgis, where parts are taking place inside and no precautions are being taken. I never said nobody could catch Covid at a protest. Both situations are risky, but one is more high risk. And that’s what I meant by different.

 

[Heather07438]

There are 2 big things that stand out to me about C19 transmission.

Let's call them Opportunity and Curiosity (named after the Mars rovers). Opportunity is Team Covid and Curiosity is Team Human.

Opportunity - The virus has the easiest time spreading when more of these are mixed:
people gather closely, people are inside, people are face to face for extended period of time, large numbers of people congregate, people talk, sing, yell loudly in close proximity.

Curiosity - Humans have curiosity and have learned how to best put Covid at a disadvantage by reducing the risk and scale of spread. Our actions matter because it's pretty easy to cut branches off of exponential spread when using deliberate intervention.
Japan put it simply with the 3 C's to avoid: Closed spaces with poor ventilation, Crowded places with many people nearby, Close contact settings such as close-range conversations.

I'd have to think alot of yelling over the sound of loud pipes and music will be happening by masses of people in close proximity... and continue for days on end. Without meeting Covid's Opportunity with human's Curiosity, the virus has a good chance to run close to its full spread potential. Doesn't have to be that way though. A few adjustments could make a huge difference at a large prolonged gathering but it takes people who are willing to participate by staying spaced and staying outside.

 

[longboard55]

I certainly never heard any disease expert say the BLM marches were a good idea concerning covid.

 

[anthony2k7]

I wonder what % of the attendees tick one of the high risk covid tick boxes? Many will be over 60, and obese I guess? Quite a few smoke as well so maybe pre existing lung diseases.

 

[Heather07438]

I certainly never heard any disease expert say the BLM marches were a good idea concerning covid.

Very true.

Still I think the 2 scenarios have some pretty distinct differences in regard to spread risk.
The people protesting were mostly not drinking and not having long loud conversations in each other's faces... and they stayed outdoors and many were masked. Sturgis is a party atmosphere on a massive scale. Music and drinking should all be outside. People should try to stay at arms length when talking and being around others. It's beautiful outside, stay out there!

 

[gwynne]

The good news is between Sturgis and open Georgia schools we are getting real testing on how the no mask no distance theory works or will not work. I look at those sturgis folks and they sure look like the high risk category.

If older adults want to pack themselves into bars with no masks that's their choice. They know the risks of transmission to themselves and others.

School kids who are packed into crowded halls with no mask enforcement are a different category. Forcing them to be in a high risk situation seems rather cruel.

 

[mefordis]

If someone in my family was going to Sturgis, they would not be coming back into my home. You have to protect yourself from these people. At this point it is clear that no one else is going to do it - we have to protect ourselves.

You mean we have to be responsible for our own well being? Absurd!

 

[mefordis]

Very true.

Still I think the 2 scenarios have some pretty distinct differences in regard to spread risk.
The people protesting were mostly not drinking and not having long loud conversations in each other's faces... and they stayed outdoors and many were masked. Sturgis is a party atmosphere on a massive scale. Music and drinking should all be outside. People should try to stay at arms length when talking and being around others. It's beautiful outside, stay out there!

They need to swap the Harleys and beer for bricks and molotov cocktails.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

You mean we have to be responsible for our own well being? Absurd!

Yes, but I also mean that Americans have become so selfish that they no longer even consider their social contract. No society can survive that type of behavior for long.

 

[RamblingMad]

It's fine. Let them have their fun before they end up in the hospital.

 

[penn19]

They need to swap the Harleys and beer for bricks and molotov cocktails.

Yes! The virus knows!

 

[robinb]

Does anyone know of the majority stays for the whole 10 days or do most people just go for one of the weekends? If people are there the whole time I would expect some of them to start becoming sick in a couple of days .