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Dakotas Lead US in Virus Growth as Both Reject Mask Rules

Associated Press

   SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA - Coronavirus infections in the Dakotas are
   growing faster than anywhere else in the nation, fueling impassioned
   debates over masks and personal freedom after months in which the two
   states avoided the worst of the pandemic.

   The argument over masks raged this week in Brookings, South Dakota, as
   the city council considered requiring face coverings in businesses. The
   city was forced to move its meeting to a local arena to accommodate
   intense interest, with many citizens speaking against it, before the
   mask requirement ultimately passed.

   Amid the brute force of the pandemic, health experts warn that the
   infections must be contained before care systems are overwhelmed. North
   Dakota and South Dakota lead the country in new cases per capita over
   the last two weeks, ranking first and second respectively, according to
   Johns Hopkins University researchers.

   South Dakota has also posted some of the country's highest positivity
   rates for COVID-19 tests in the last week -- more than 17% -- an
   indication that there are more infections than tests are catching.

   Infections have been spurred by schools and universities reopening and
   mass gatherings like the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, which drew hundreds
   of thousands of people from across the country.

   "It is not a surprise that South Dakota has one of the highest
   [COVID-19] reproduction rates in the country," Brookings City Council
   member Nick Wendell said as he commented on the many people who forgo
   masks in public.

   The Republican governors of both states have eschewed mask
   requirements.

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