In recent weeks, South Dakota has emerged as the nation's hot spot for the COVID-19 virus, thanks to the recklessly, even homicidally stupid actions of its Trumpist cult Governor, Kristi "KOVID Kristi" Noem, a Palin-lite pol. In her cynical zeal to advance her political career among fellow Trumpers, she staged the Fourth of July rally at Mt. Rushmore to stroke demagogue and sociopath Donald "COVID Donnie" Trump's damaged ego. In a pathetic act of supine worship of Trump, she even produced a mock-up of Mt. Rushmore with Trump's face on it to win his favor. Her next effort at spreading the virus was greenlighting the notorious Sturgis Motorcycle Rally for a 10-day run, with up to 400,000 Sturgis Stooges packed into bars and socializing without masks or social distancing. A study done on the impact of the rally on COVID-19 spread estimates that around 266,000 people have been infected as a result of the Stooges returning to their communities.
Sophia Tesfaye's reports on the disaster that glassy-eyed KOVID Kristi has wrought on her state, and many others, writing:
"South Dakota is now considered in the 'red zone' for COVID-19 cases after ranking as the second-worst-hit state in the nation for new cases and test positivity per capita over the last two weeks, according to the latest document prepared for governors by the White House Coronavirus Task Force. But Noem is one of 14 Republican governors who have ignored the task force guidelines to curb the spread of COVID-19, even as the White House says that increasing case counts in South Dakota and 'remarkably high' test positivity are 'deeply concerning' given insufficient testing levels in the state.If you expect KOVID Kristi to pay a political price for this catastrophe, think again. Her supporters either think COVID-19 is a "hoax" to damage their cult leader, or think they won't get it because Jeebus is protecting them. Her stance against science and the medical community is actually applauded by the goobers that wear the cult's red cap. As the saying goes, it's their funeral.
While the World Health Organization’s benchmark for business re-openings is a 5% rate of positive tests, South Dakota has seen a positivity rate above 10% since Aug. 16. Both daily active cases and hospitalizations have more than doubled in South Dakota since the start of August, and no other state has seen such a rapid expansion rate. Over the past week, there have been an average of 236 confirmed cases per day, an increase of 48% from the average only two weeks earlier. That’s out of a total state population of roughly 885,000, which ranks 46th in the nation." (our emphasis)
(photo: Sarah Palin-lite and her cult leader. Kevin Lamarque / Reuters)
