The discovery is based on an analysis of anonymous cell phone data collected by Camber Systems, which aggregates cell phone activity for health researchers, the Associated Press reports. The researchers found that visitors to the 10-day festival have since traveled back to far-reaching corners of the United States—61 percent of all U.S. counties, to be exact. As mass testing gets underway, NBC News reports that more than 100 cases in eight states have already been linked to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. RELATED: For more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter. “Imagine trying to do contact tracing for the entire city of [Washington], D.C., but you also know that you don’t have any distancing, or the distancing is very, very limited, the masking is limited,” Navin Vembar, co-founder Camber Systems, told the AP. “It all adds up to a very dangerous situation for people all over the place.” The annual event generated national headlines for carrying on against the advice of health officials, who warned that the large gathering created the potential for a “superspreader event.” A now-infamous concert by ’90s band Smash Mouth at the rally saw attendees gather in throngs without wearing the face masks or practicing the social distancing recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Many others spent time in crowded bars, tattoo parlors, and restaurants over the course of the rally’s run, from Aug. 7 to Aug. 16, including one confirmed patron at a crowded saloon who later tested positive for coronavirus. Some local health departments have suggested anyone who attended the rally quarantine for two weeks, while others are attempting to coordinate testing across states in an attempt to establish contact tracing, NBC News reports. But the sheer size of the rally makes doing so no easy task.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb “We’re expecting that we’re going to see many more cases associated with Sturgis,” Kris Ehresmann, the director of the Minnesota Department of Health’s infectious disease division, said during a press call on Aug. 21. “Thousands of people attended that event, and so it’s very likely that we will see more transmission.” And for more risky behavior amid the pandemic, check out 24 Things You’re Doing Every Day That Put You at COVID Risk.
