I read the Sept. 6 editorial, “Predictably, COVID-19 cases start to emerge from motorcycle rally,” regarding Sturgis and how 400,000-plus attendees who threw social responsibility to the wind caused 260 cases of COVID-19 and one death.
I attended, wore masks when social distancing was not possible, used hand sanitizer frequently, washed my hands whenever possible, supported the South Dakota economy and tested negative when I returned to Massachusetts.
Of the 260 cases, how many of those individuals came in contact with someone outside the rally? How long after leaving Sturgis did they test positive? How many people tested positive in Sturgis and the surrounding area since the rally?
Was what I did so bad by spending my hard-earned dollars at a rally that I had been planning and saving for over the past two years? South Dakota never closed like Massachusetts, and we have had a much higher rate of infection. In fact, when I traveled, South Dakota had fewer deaths than we had just in Barnstable County.
I noticed a majority of the population in attendance at Sturgis was more mature. Younger people gathering are generating more cases than Sturgis did locally.