TUESDAY, Nov. 24, 2020 (HealthDay News) — The Sturgis motorcycle rally held in South Dakota in August triggered a surge of coronavirus cases in Minnesota, a new study finds.
Before the rally, health officials expressed concern that it would cause new outbreaks, and these findings confirm that it did, CBS News reported.
After the event that attracted nearly half-million people, about one-third of counties in Minnesota had coronavirus cases linked to the rally, according to the study published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Minnesota had 86 cases related to the rally, 51 people who went to the event and 35 who came into contact with those people later, state officials said.
Most of the patients didn’t develop serious illness, but four were hospitalized and one died, CBS News reported.
“These findings highlight the far-reaching effects that gatherings in one area might have on another area,” the study authors wrote. “The motorcycle rally was held in a neighboring state that did not have policies regarding event size and mask use, underscoring the implications of policies within and across jurisdictions.”
At least 290 people in 12 states tested positive for the coronavirus after attending the motorcycle rally, the Associated Press found, CBS News reported.
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