>>12052944A lot of the protests had very high mask usage. I'm not saying that removed the risk, obviously there had to be some spread, masks or no masks, but there didn't seem to be any mask use in South Dakota. The other factor is the reason for the gatherings. One was to bring about social reform, and the other was purely for fun and entertainment. Health professionals even stated that the BLM protests would increase the spread of SARS-CoV-2, and that extra testing should be provided. But the BLM protests also coincided with states opening up, so it's really hard to say just what caused the second surge in cases. As for the motorcycle rally, we don't even know what effect it will have on cases at the national level. People came from all over the country and if infected, will be taking the virus back with them. It's going to take some time to assess the situation since we're really going to have to look at numbers at the national level rather than the state level.
