South Dakota’s Sturgis rally roars back as delta COVID variant rises

STURGIS, SD – South Dakota’s Black Hills roared with motorcycles and crowds on Friday as the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally kicked off, with mostly unmasked rally fans crowded side by side at bars and shows of rock, despite an increase in COVID-19 cases in the state.

Organizers expect at least 700,000 people at this 10-day event which is a rendezvous for bikers, who connect around their love for motorcycles. For some it is a unique goal to get to Sturgis; others faithfully make the pilgrimage year after year.

“It’s just a great family atmosphere, everyone is here for the same purpose – we all love motorcycles,” said Aaron Harper. “If you’re a motorcyclist, you have to see it at least once in your life.

Public health experts – and some locals – fear the rally could again be the scene of coronavirus infections, after hundreds of attendees were infected last year. According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only about 46% of adults living in the county that hosts Sturgis are fully vaccinated, compared to 60.6% nationally. Viral infections are on the rise in South Dakota after steadily declining in the spring and early summer. The Department of Health reported a 68% increase in viral infections last week, with the highly contagious delta variant stimulating a larger share of those infections.

Last year’s rally transformed Sturgis, typically a quiet community of less than 7,000, into a travel hub comparable to a large American city. Analysis of anonymous cell phone data found that well over half of the counties in the country were visited by someone who frequented Sturgis. A team of researchers from the Centers for Disease Control concluded that last year’s rally ended up looking like a “super-propagator event.”

This year the rally should be even bigger. The city held an opening ceremony on Friday for the 81st edition of the event – something it ignored in 2020 in an attempt to pack the crowds.

Jody Perewitz, the rally’s ceremonial grand marshal, said she was “ecstatic” to see how many people turned out for the opening ceremony. Motorcycles stretched over boulders as the crowds strolled down Main Street, the heart of the rally.

The biggest step city officials have taken this year to mitigate the risk of infection has been to allow rally enthusiasts to drink on public property, with the aim of spreading the crowds in the open. The bars and food stalls that stretch out over blocks also offer outdoor seating.

“We’re out in the open,” said Pam Williamson, a Kansas rally participant who also attended last year’s rally. “If you want to wear a mask, that’s your business. If you don’t, it’s your business.

While last year’s rally was marked by contempt for coronavirus precautions, with t-shirts on sale that read: “Screw COVID. I went to Sturgis, ”this year the pandemic hardly seemed like an afterthought amid a crowd embracing the risks and the open road lifestyle.

“A lot of that, I’m not too worried,” said JJ Vilella, who said he had not received a COVID-19 vaccine. “If it happens, it happens. “

The rally is known as a place where people let loose, walking the streets in minimal attire and body paint. On Thursday, a woman drove through the city center with a goat on a leash. A man sat on a bench with a gun as passers-by smiled and nodded.

Health experts say large gatherings provide fertile ground for triggering a wave of infections. It didn’t seem to slow the crowds of Sturgis down.

“It’s in the back of your mind, you think about it a little bit,” Harper said. The Nebraska resident has yet to receive a vaccine, but said he intends to do so. “But you have to live your life, enjoy it and have some more fun.”