US biker rally may have led to 260,000 new Covid-19 cases: study

WASHINGTON: A massive motorcycle rally held in the US state of South Dakota last month may have been responsible for 260,000 new coronavirus cases, according to an analysis published on Wednesday.

This figure, which came from a paper that hasn’t yet been peer-reviewed, would represent the biggest Covid-19 spreading event documented in the US to date. The study was published by the Institute of Labour Economics and conducted by economists at the University of San Diego who studied the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, which drew an estimated 460,000 people from August 7 and August 16. The analysis is a statistical approximation based on anonymised cell phone data that documented the influx in the town from non-residents and showed where they came from.