The number of per capita new coronavirus cases in the Dakotas is growing substantially faster than the rest of the nation just one month after Sturgis, South Dakota hosted a motorcycle rally that attracted 400,000 people, the Associated Press reports.
North Dakota and South Dakota rank first and second, respectively, in new cases per capita in the United States over the last two weeks, data from Johns Hopkins shows. North Dakota also recorded a 22% positivity rate on coronavirus tests last week, leading the nation.
Neither state implemented basic coronavirus prevention measures, such as limiting gathering sizes or wearing masks. The republican governors of each state have shown a general contempt for public health guidelines, citing the independence of their citizens as the reason to eschew public health regulations.
“There are a lot of things we have in life that we have to deal with that cause death,” business owner Teresa Haldeman told the Brookings, South Dakota, city council. “We live in America, and we have certain inalienable rights.”