South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem rode into the 81st Sturgis Motorcycle Rally on Monday as part of the Sturgis Buffalo Chip Legends Ride amid reports the annual event is busier than ever.
Just as in 2020, the rally has been the subject of backlash as the Delta variant of the coronavirus continues to spread. There are concerns that the event could result in being a superspreader for COVID-19.
'I was not surprised to see Dr. Fauci pick on Sturgis,' said Governor Noem. 'He picked on it last year, this rally as well, and honestly, I wish he cared more about the Southern Border and what we have going on there with a lot of COVID virus cases coming across the border that are not being isolated and taken care of.'
Noem has operated a hands-off policy during the pandemic stressing she prefers people make decisions for themselves. Fauci was blasted for failing to mention crowds gathering at the Lollapalooza Music Festival in Chicago, or at ex-president Barack Obama's 60th birthday party in Martha's Vineyard.
'I don't believe that governors have the authority to tell people that they have to shut down their businesses and they have to shelter in place and to pass mandates on,' said Noem to KOTA. 'That should be used for personal responsibility and I've told the folks in South Dakota all the time that I will give them all the information that I have to protect their health.'
Meanwhile, law enforcement officials say the first few days of this year's Sturgis Motorcycle Rally have been among the busiest they've seen.
Some 700,000 people have been celebrating their enthusiasm for motorcycles at the 10-day event that kicked off Friday in the western South Dakota city with rallygoers packed shoulder-to-shoulder at bars despite a rise in COVID-19 cases in the state.
'There are more people here than in the 31 years I´ve been doing this,' Meade County Sheriff Ron Merwin told the Rapid City Journal on Saturday.
Law enforcement in Sturgis and Meade County are reporting their calls for service during the first few days are up dramatically compared to previous years.
Sturgis Police Chief Geody VanDewater said officers have issued 207 violations for open containers of alcohol since Friday.
The city allows open containers of beer and wine, but not liquor, during the rally in certain downtown areas, but drinkers must purchase a special cup to do so.
'You can´t use cans or red cups. You must use the official souvenir cup purchased from the city and have a wrist band,' VanDewater said.
The chief said only two arrests have been made for open container violations because the patrons were uncooperative, the rest have been verbal warnings.
Arrests have also been made for drugs and traffic violations, police reported.
The sheriff´s office has responded to dozens of calls for service since Friday. Merwin said the largest amount of calls are traffic stops and accidents, which so far compared to last year are nearly double.
Sturgis skipped the formal rally last year because of the coronavirus pandemic, but thousands of bikers flocked to the city anyway, leading to hundreds of coronavirus infections.
For some, it's a once-in-a-lifetime goal to make it to Sturgis while others faithfully make the pilgrimage year after year.
Rallygoers are often seen walking with minimal clothing and body paint.
Only about 46% of adults who live in the county that hosts Sturgis are fully vaccinated, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, compared with 61% nationwide.
Virus infections are on the rise in South Dakota after a steady decline through the spring and early summer - though the state has the fewest new virus cases per capita in the United States.
The Department of Health reported a 68% jump in virus infections last week, with the highly contagious delta variant spurring a larger share of those infections.
Last year's rally transformed Sturgis, usually a quiet community of under 7,000 residents, into a travel hub comparable to a major U.S. city.
One analysis of anonymous cellphone data found that well over half of counties in the country were visited by someone who attended Sturgis.
A team of researchers from the Centers for Disease Control concluded that last year's rally ended up looking like a 'superspreader event.'
This year, the rally is expected to be even bigger. The city held an opening ceremony Friday for the 81st iteration of the event - something it skipped in 2020 in an attempt to tamp down the crowds.
Jody Perewitz, the rally's ceremonial grand marshal, said she was 'ecstatic' to see how many people came for the opening ceremony. Motorcycles stretched for blocks as crowds strolled Main Street, the heart of the rally.
The biggest step city officials took this year to mitigate the risk of infections was allowing rallygoers to drink on public property, with the goal of spreading the crowds into the open air.
Bars and food stalls that stretch for blocks also offer open-air seating.
The South Dakota Department of Tourism has estimated that rally brings in about $800 million in revenue for the state, The New York Times reported.
'We're out in the wide open,' said Pam Williamson, a rallygoer from Kansas who also attended last year's gathering. 'If you want to wear a mask, that's your business. If you don't, that's your business.'
Last year's rally was marked by defiance of coronavirus precautions, with T-shirts on sale that read, 'Screw COVID. I went to Sturgis.'
This year, the pandemic appeared to hardly be an afterthought amid a crowd that embraces the risks and lifestyle of the open road.
Original source can be found here.
