U.S. biker rally may have led to 260,000 new COVID-19 cases: study | CTV News - Agence France-Presse
September 8, 2020 - "A massive motorcycle rally held in South Dakota last month may have been responsible for 260,000 new coronavirus cases, according to an analysis published Tuesday. This figure, which came from a paper that hasn't yet been peer-reviewed, would represent the biggest COVID-19 spreading event documented in the U.S. to date.
"The study was published by the Institute of Labor Economics and conducted by economists at the University of San Diego who studied the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, which drew an estimated 460,000 people from August 7 and August 16. The analysis is a statistical approximation based on anonymized cell phone data that documented the influx in the town from non-residents and showed where they came from....
"U.S. counties that contributed the highest numbers of attendees experienced a rise of 7 to 12.5 percent in the number of cases compared to those that did not contribute inflows. Researchers said their calculations indicated 'a total of 263,708 additional cases in these locations due to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally'."
Sturgis SD - 2020 City of Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Update (press release):
September 9, 2020 - "The San Diego State University IZA study regarding the COVID-19 cases resulting from the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is blatantly faulty. The study concludes that nearly 20% of the COVID-19 cases reported in America from August 2 to September 2 are due to the event. This outrageous conclusion is antithetical to actual case data as numerous State Officials across the United States have been actively seeking to tie any COVID-19 case to the event. Despite these active efforts, fewer than 300 cases have been identified nationwide.
"The careless ease with which mainstream media outlets have published a report that multiplies that factual data by 1,000 is shameful. The absolute preposterousness of the conclusion is further demonstrated by the results of the community-wide mass testing which occurred after the event, where there were 26 positives cases out of 650 patients tested.....
"[I]ndividuals were exposed to the virus on their trip to, from, or while at the Rally, but the data reported by health officials across the nation show that the impact from the event was a mere fraction of what was projected and anticipated by many of the experts.
"The continued media focus on infection and the hope of increased transmission rates and death, following this event are reminiscent of the models that told us that locally our hospitals would be overwhelmed, we would have a massive lack of ventilators, and 3-5% of us would not survive. Fortunately, as we have seen, the underlying assumptions of these models were unfounded and categorically inaccurate, just as is the conclusion of this report."
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