South Dakota sees the country's largest two-week COVID surge

[babylonsister]

Sturgis doesn't disappoint And Noem is a special kind of stupid.

https://fortune.com/2021/08/19/south-dakota-largest-covid-surge-us/

South Dakota sees the country’s largest two-week COVID surge
By Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
August 19, 2021 5:30 PM EDT


South Dakota experienced a large spike in COVID-19 cases recently after the state’s governor, Kristi Noem, a Republican, said at the end of July she will not be ratcheting up efforts to encourage people to get the COVID vaccine.

The Midwestern state saw the country’s biggest two-week increase in COVID cases at 230%, according to New York Times data. The state recently increased the frequency with which it reports its COVID cases—from once a week to every weekday—which may have contributed to the boost.

Despite the spike, the state still has a much lower concentration of new COVID-19 cases (20 per 100,000 people) than current COVID hotspots such as Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi, which all have more than 100 cases per 100,000 people.

The state has fully vaccinated 41% of its population as of publication, according to New York Times data.

At last week’s 81st annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, Gov. Noem reiterated that she will avoid mandates, including masks or vaccines. Noem said she prefers to give her constituents the information they need to make informed personal decisions. The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally was criticized by Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who worried it could become a superspreader event, as it had been in 2020.

snip//

“President Biden is overstepping his authority to try to push masks in schools and mandate vaccines,” read a tweet from Gov. Noem’s account. “He’s doing it to distract from the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan where Americans are left behind.”

[vercetti2021]

1. Well fuck

Who didn't see this one coming? I mean really...

[FarPoint]

2. I see this doubled in the next week to 10 days...

Hospitalization reports can help us see the real impact this event had on the local community there....

[vercetti2021]

8. I'll go further than that

Even triple or quadruple the cases. I watched a lot of those live cams they had there and everywhere, the streets, the store were packed shoulder to shoulder with maskless idiots. I told my mom, it's a petri dish convention

[FarPoint]

9. The close contact time inside will be the highest access to the viral load.

It won't take long either for transmission...if venues inside were fully packed....unmasked...unvaccinated....Yes, I totally agree with you...these folks are now national super-spreaders...The employees there at the bars, stores, restaurants, they will suffer as will their families.

They were all warned and chose poorly....

[vercetti2021]

10. Simply to put

They don't care. A lot of these people look like potential Jan 6th insurrectionists

[TomCADem]

30. Thousands of bikers attend Sturgis Motorcycle Rally despite COVID-19 surge

A perfect storm of unmasked and largely unvaccinated attendees. What could go wrong?

[2naSalit]

3. Imagine that...

They have a big ol' grungefest and the predictable outcome arrives right on time, just like clockwork.

[bluestarone]

4. No proof BUT

I DO NOT trust any numbers coming from South Dakota gov. I just naturally double or even TRIPLE their covid numbers!

[uponit7771]

27. +1

[tanyev]

5. Sturgis surges. Followed in a few weeks by Sturgis purges.

[Bluethroughu]

6. So true.

[Zambero]

7. After having laid the groundwork for it

I'm recalling an old and somewhat obscure Crosby, Stills, and Nash song. Still very appropriate for today's situation, although the spelling of the last word in the title needs to be updated: "Find The Cost of Freedumb".

[Maeve]

11. My brother lives in Deadwood. He stayed inside at home the whole rally

Too many idjits out there

[machoneman]

12. Gives new meaning to the term: Deadwood Cemetery

[Botany]

13. A Sturgis Surge.

I give up if they get sick they should get zero hospital care and if they die they can die.
Straight up willful stupidity.

[gordianot]

14. Just another continuing chapter in the Republican Death Lottery.

They can’t help themselves in drawing numbers.

[former9thward]

20. What deaths?

SD 7 day average of deaths is 1.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/usa/south-dakota/

[gordianot]

28. Give it time new winners everyday.

Pack up your Harley and take it home it takes time to incubate. I know some who just got back from South Dakota they are still there.

[former9thward]

36. I know, always 2 weeks from now.

I have been hearing that for monthss and months. It was said about Lollapalooza in Chicago, Sturgis last year and this, and the party NYC is having this evening in Central Park. Always 2 weeks....

[Maru Kitteh]

32. Ha! Is it *really* your position that death will not follow in SD as it has

in FL, MI, MS, TX, etc.?

Also; per capita. SD don't have much in the way of humans, as I'm sure you are aware.

[former9thward]

37. Yes, it is my position that "massive death" will not follow.

Which has been the prediction of many. Covid is not spread easily in outside events. That is why NYC is having a massive party in Central Park this evening.

[Maru Kitteh]

41. You are more than capable of locating the gaping craters in your own premise

1.) Gee - what's different about the Central Park event from Stoopidurgis?
- a.) vaccinations REQUIRED
- b.) by default and environment, a lower percentage of free-dolts, anti-maskers, anti-vaxers, etc.
- c.) wanna make bets on the percentage of mask wearing in one event vs. the other?

2.) While I will probably enjoy the coverage, I'm in hearty agreement with those who point out that Central Park is dumb fucking idea. Maybe not as dumb as Stoopidurgis, but still really dumb.
https://www.curbed.com/2021/08/nyc-central-park-concert-delta-variant.html

3.) Delta ain't the 'rona that killed our grandaddys. Delta likes to party outdoors, too.
https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/dr-pate-outdoor-events-may-be-safer-but-the-delta-variant-of-covid-19-still-poses-a-threat/277-31d6f5c9-d406-4e95-bee8-a563c1d182b6
https://www.newsnationnow.com/health/coronavirus/concerts-outdoor-events-can-still-be-risky-as-delta-variant-continues-to-spread/

Anecdote: I just tested a 1-year-old baby positive yesterday because his dumbass parents threw him an outdoor birthday party and had all kinds of family and friends over because "nobody got to see him when he was born because COVID." Dumbass mom didn't get vaccinated because she was breastfeeding. Dumbass dad didn't get vaccinated because Trump and hoax and sheep and that shit. Their other 2 children are 11 and 3. THEY ALL HAVE COVID NOW. Got it outdoors from a loving relative at their very own outdoor super-spreader event.

4.) "Massive death?" spare me the qualifiers of which you will claim arbitration. Death will follow.

5.) Delta don't have to kill you to seriously fuck your life.

[former9thward]

42. I would be happy to take your bet but unfortunately no way of knowing.

Unless someone is at both events and have the super ability to look at every participant (or even a small percent). And your outdoor link supports my position far more than yours. The only thing the one person quoted could come up with was an "outdoor wedding". Most weddings, outdoor or not, have a lot of hugs and kisses as well as bar time indoors afterwards. Not a great example.

[Maru Kitteh]

46. Looks like it spread outdoors.

Link to tweet

This of course, is merely the beginning of the Stooges surge.

[former9thward]

47. No and you are playing with percent.

Last edited Sun Aug 22, 2021, 07:20 PM - Edit history (1)

When you start with a very low number any incease is a big percent. The Covid 7 day death rate in SD is one. The main spreader of Covid at an event like Sturgis would be indoors. People eat and drink and I am sure all the establishments there were jammed.

[Maru Kitteh]

48. Delta plays outdoors, too.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=15770567


Hopefully sooner rather than later you will come to realize, Delta spreads outdoors, especially to the unvaxed but the vaccinated as well. When you do allow yourself to admit this, I guess you can just imagine my raised eyebrow and the sound of my voice saying "Uh-huh. Just like I tried to tell you."

I myself have diagnosed 6 people so far who caught Delta outdoors. One of them vaxed.

I say hopefully sooner rather than later so you will assume the proper precautions. We don't want to lose you.

[Hugin]

38. ...

I'll leave dealing with this to you.

Stupidgis isn't even over and already the yelling of, "What surge?" Oy.

My new favorite phrase in these instances is FAFO. Fuck Around and Find Out.

[Maru Kitteh]

43. Hundreds of thousands did fuck around, many will find out

Delta is no joke, and she likes to play outdoors too!

[Hugin]

44. I firmly believe that someday looking back...

Whoever writes the history of this period will decide the Delta variant was a separate and more severe pandemic. Made worse by the complacency arising from the previous experience with earlier waves.

But, we'll see how it pans out.

Please, take care, MK.

[Maru Kitteh]

45. Hugin I appreciate you.

Stay well my friend.

[ashredux]

15. Well, no one, nobody, not anyone, could have seen that coming....😲

[Traildogbob]

16. Damn it

I have been putting off selling my bike, guess I better get to it before the flood of used bikes hit the market. They may need to trade for caskets and grave sites.

[Crunchy Frog]

17. They should start calling it the "Freedumb Flu".

[Greybnk48]

18. That's fine. But no "free" medical care and they don't

take an ICU bed from someone who complied with CDC guidelines to protect themselves and others.

If they don't believe in science, and don't care about the wellbeing of others (including their families), then they should doctor themselves at home.

[Maru Kitteh]

33. YES! AT HOME! Leave the HCPs and their families OUT OF IT!

You didn't want us when we asked you to get vaccinated - leave us the hell alone now.

[Snackshack]

19. No 💩...

[llashram]

21. logic dictates

Sturgis motorcycle enthusiasts spread Covid nationwide after the first 'rally for Covid and now this. How long must these idiots be allowed to kill people, NATIONWIDE?

[former9thward]

22. As usual people are playing with statistics.

There were 700,000 people at Sturgis and a "spike" of 300 cases of Covid. The average 7 day deaths from Covid is exact 1 in SD.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/usa/south-dakota/

[wnylib]

23. How many hospitalizations?

[former9thward]

26. 125

https://doh.sd.gov/COVID/Dashboard.aspx

[bluestarone]

29. I agree with you 99% of the time BUT

NOT HERE! I believe NOTHING that SD says regarding COVID!

[wnylib]

34. I have been having doubts about

the stats in my western NY county. The numbers just don't add up. I check them daily because we are in the "substantial" category.

47% of the population is vaccinated. There are 7 people hospitalized. We are consistently getting around 20 new cases per day. Yet, day after day, the total of active cases increases by only 3 or 4. How can this be? We get numbers like 115 total active cases, 23 new cases, and a new active case total of 119. But 115 plus 23 should yield a total of 138 active cases.

At first I thought it meant that the new cases included asymptomatic people who would not be included in active cases. But when this happens day after day after day it becomes impossible to believe because it would mean that around 75% or more new cases are asymptomatic. In a county of only 47% vaccinated people.

It would mean that an impossibly high number of unvaccinated people are asymptomatic. Normally unvaccinated asymptomatic infections would be around 30% at most, and that was with the alpha variant. There should be more, not less symptomatic people with delta.

So, does it mean that there is an abnormally high number of breakthrough infections among vaccinated people, who would then have no symptoms or only mild ones that go away in a day or two? If so, that's a breakthrough rate of over 75%.

Nobody here wears masks, so it could be spreading by both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.

None of it adds up.

[wnylib]

31. So the death rate might change

from 1 to ?

Hope not. Death is a high price to pay, especially for people who are innocent victims of other people's selfishness.

But it is premature to conclude that there is only one death victim from the increase in infections.

[former9thward]

39. Are you opposed to the massive party NYC is throwing in Central Park this evening?

The so-called mega-concert with hundreds of thousands in the park? I am not. Life must go on and outside events don't easily spread the disease.

[wnylib]

40. You bet I am. I think that gatherings

like that are irresponsible during a pandemic.

It doesn't affect me directly, since I am hundreds of miles away from there, but that's my view on it.

[Maru Kitteh]

35. As usual, people fool themselves into thinking their sacred cow is somehow exempt.

Covid don't give a shit about your preferred pastimes anymore than it does your voter registration card.

People take their masks off at family gatherings because "I knew everybody." Covid doesn't magically pass over your family members just because you know them.

Covid

don't

care

[OMGWTF]

24. Is Kristi Noem also a Regeneron investor like Abbot and Desantis?

IOW — we don’t make any $$$ off of healthy people. This is state-sanctioned murder.

[lambchopp59]

25. Biggem tough Sturgis stooges

Same ilk completely covered in tattoos who invariably turned into big babies when it came for me to stick in the IV. Think I'll see if we can stock bigger than the 18G next time, maybe. Need such for some of those big boys to obtain a diagnostic angiogram anyway. (Kidding. The new infusics catheters will do)
Sturgis motorcycle rally and nonsense contest.