South Dakota governor calls Sturgis ‘superspreading’ study ‘completely untrue’

South Dakota’s Gov. Kristi Noem has continued her attack on a recent study that argued the massive Sturgis motorcycle rally was a COVID-19 “superspreading” event linked to almost 20 percent of new cases nationwide last month — calling it “back of the napkin math” and “completely untrue.”

Some 300 attendees from 12 states have tested positive for coronavirus after attending the rally, including at least one who died.

And while it’s unclear how many people those infected attendees then spread the virus to, South Dakota saw a 35 percent post-rally jump in cases, and those other states saw increases of an average of 10.7 percent.