November 20, 2020

COVID-19 Outbreak Associated with a 10-Day Motorcycle Rally in a Neighboring State — Minnesota, August–September 2020

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Transmission

Keywords (Tags): outbreak

• Following a 10-day motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota attended by approximately 460,000 persons, 51 confirmed cases of COVID-19 that were directly associated with the event were identified in Minnesota residents, along with 21 secondary cases and five tertiary cases. An additional nine likely event-associated secondary or tertiary cases were identified. Four patients were hospitalized, and one died. Genomic sequencing supported the associations with the motorcycle rally. Approximately one third of counties in Minnesota reported at least one case epidemiologically linked to the event. The authors note that this is likely an underascertainment of the total number of cases in in Minnesota and other states that were attributable to the event.

Firestone et al. (Nov 20, 2020). COVID-19 Outbreak Associated with a 10-Day Motorcycle Rally in a Neighboring State — Minnesota, August–September 2020. MMWR.  http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6947e1