SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota health officials say a number of people who attended the 10-day Sturgis Motorcycle Rally this month, including some who came from out of state, have come down with COVID-19.
State Department of Health officials on Thursday didn't give an exact number of rallygoers who tested positive, but they said it was under 25.
State epidemiologist Josh Clayton says the health department has received reports from other states that people who traveled from the rally have tested positive.
Contact tracers have been able to work with most people to determine who they were around and may have infected. But the health department has issued public warnings for two bars — one in Sturgis and the other at a popular stop for riders along U.S. Highway 385 near Mount Rushmore. Clayton said they did not know how many people were exposed at the bars.
The health department did not immediately reply to a question about what other states have reported infections in people who attended the rally.
The rally, which ended Sunday, brought hundreds of thousands of people from far and wide to Sturgis.
Before it kicked off, some locals and officials worried that it could cause an outbreak that could follow rallygoers after they went home.
