Fauci: Sturgis Will Likely Cause COVID Surge — Public Heath Should Supersede Freedoms

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases head Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis, SD will likely cause a surge of new COVID-19 cases.

Anchor Chuck Todd said, “You’ve brought up regionally the South. Out in the plains, the Great Plains, Sturgis, South Dakota, a gathering now of some 700,000 people. Last year it was a smaller turnout, and it was over about 150,000 people, and it led to a massive outbreak in the Dakotas where they became number one and number two for essentially the rest of the calendar year of cases. What do you expect this rally to do to that part of the country?”

Fauci said, “I’m very concerned we’re going to see another surge related to that rally. To me, it’s understandable that people want to do the kind of things they want to do. They want their freedom to do that, but there comes a time when you’re dealing with the public health crisis that could involve you, your family, and everyone else, that something supersedes that need to do what you need to do. You’re going to be able to do that in the future, but let’s get this pandemic under control before we start acting like nothing is going on. Something bad is going on. We’ve got to realize that.”

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