STURGIS, S.D. (AP) - The mayor of Sturgis says city officials can’t stop people from coming to the annual motorcycle gathering in the Black Hills, regardless of the coronavirus.
The 80th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is scheduled. Aug. 7-16. The city council has said it would make an official decision in mid-June on whether to go forward with hosting the event, the Rapid City Journal reported.
Mayor Mark Carstensen said in a Facebook video that “tourism is coming” to the Black Hills and Sturgis. A manager with The Hotel Sturgis said all 22 rooms have been booked for the week of the rally and there is a waiting list.
“People are coming as we speak, and I truly believe that whatever decision is made June 15 by the Sturgis City Council, there are still people coming to the rally,” Carstensen said.
State health officials on Saturday confirmed 112 new cases of the coronavirus, bumping the total to 4.468. Beadle County became the fifth county in the state to top triple figures in positive tests, jumping from 98 to 118. No new deaths were reported.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.
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