I just got back from a vacation to Colorado and South Dakota. It was amazing the stark difference between South Dakota and their neighboring states. South Dakota is fully open for business and has been for several months. The Black Hills were full of tourists, maybe not a normal year for them but there were big crowds at Mount Rushmore, Deadwood, Keystone, Badlands, and Rapid City was operating like normal. Really the only way you could tell there was any pandemic going on was about 10% of people wore masks, and some businesses required employees to wear masks. Some Dining and bars/breweries also followed separation rules for separate parties but this was not across the board. Those of us who believe this was an overreaction have touted Sweden, but South Dakota has been even more open. If you look at their numbers they've had cases, actually close to the same per capita as California but deaths have been far lower.
The other thing that was very noticeable is the atmosphere was far different than the rest of the country. No one was on edge on the virus. There was no hysteria about getting to close to someone, those who chose to wear masks had no qualms getting near people without masks and there were no dirty looks. In Colorado, we were chewed out by a couple for not wearing masks on a trail in a very low traffic area in Rocky Mt Nat Park. The people of South Dakota we talked to were overwhelmingly in favor of their state's response. Their main points were appreciation that their governor chose to let individuals and businesses respond in the way they felt appropriate and also prioritize the state's economy.
I know some are going to say, a state with low population density, the virus is not going spread as much. But I was just in the Black Hills, trust me they are packed with people from both South Dakota and states around the country.
They may not have a major metro but there are a couple of decent sized cities where people are out and about in a normal way. This has been going as mentioned for months and there has been no medical crisis or out of control surge. It has really convinced me the pandemic is as bad as you choose to make it. I'm not suggesting COVID is a made-up thing, but there is a small segment of the population COVID is dangerous to in a statistically meaningful way and we should allow those individuals to be protected but not stop everyone else from living. It should not be up to our elected officials to decide how we respond as individuals. If a business wants to open up let the public decide if they feel comfortable going. The ability to live one's life in the way we choose is a core American tenant that has been taken away through this pandemic. We are adults and can make the choice for ourselves, the information is out there for us to make the decision for ourselves. If someone feels that the actions of others in a specific public place or business put them at risk, don't go, that's your right. Although it's not your right to sit at home and do nothing on my dime as I've been out working since Day 1 when we thought this thing was way worse than it is.
Initially, there were some shots at South Dakota's governor from the national media. But as things have continued to go well this has been ignored by the national media. I hope people start paying attention to this and realize we don't need to continue to let out lives be dominated by the virus.