Coronavirus and social distancing be damned — that fireworks display at Mount Rushmore is going forward, despite warnings from health officials that this is not a good idea. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem nixed the idea of enforcing social distancing at the event, where President Donald Trump will also appear, in an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham.

During the interview Monday, Ingraham decried the cancellation of other Independence Day events and wanted to know what Noem had to say to those citing health concerns “as the reason to cancel all of these patriotic displays.”

Noem’s response, according to USA Today?

“You know, Laura, in South Dakota, we’ve told people to focus on personal responsibility. Every one of them has the opportunity to make a decision that they’re comfortable with. So, we will be having celebrations of American Independence,” she said. “We told those folks that have concerns that they can stay home. But those who want to come and join us, we’ll be giving out free face masks, if they choose to wear one. But we won’t be social distancing.”

So rather than focusing on keeping people safe and healthy, Noem wants people to “be ready to celebrate, to enjoy the freedoms and the liberties we have in this country,” and added this is a chance to “talk about our history, what it brought us today, with the opportunity to raise our kids in the greatest country in the world.”

Even though parents might be burying their kids if they contract this deadly virus after attending the July 3 event.

But that’s of little concern to Noem or Ingraham, who said “Yeah, the media is just freaking out over the COVID-19 problem,” regarding the media coverage of the COVID-19 outbreak that has killed more than 127,000 people in the U.S.

Ingraham praised Noem’s decision, noting that there have only been 6,764 confirmed coronavirus cases, resulting in 91 deaths in South Dakota, which has less than 900,000 residents.

At least 7,500 people are expected to attend the event and this has health officials worried that this may lead to a spike in infections in the communities surrounding the event and where those attending the event live.

And according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which lists four levels of coronavirus risk for events, the Mount Rushmore event falls into the agency’s highest-risk category: a large, in-person gathering where it will be difficult for audience members to remain six feet apart. The event is also ranked this high due to some people traveling from outside the area.

South Dakota State Medical Association President Dr. Ben Aaker, who’s also an emergency medicine physician, told a local newspaper if people don’t follow guidelines established by the CDC there is “a lot to be concerned about.”

“Right now, we feel that we have enough beds for what we’re currently undergoing, but if we have large events such as this event at Mount Rushmore, that has the potential to overwhelm the hospital system,” he said.

Aaker cautioned those who plan to attend to stay six feet apart and wear masks.

It seems appropriate at this point to drag out that well-worn internet cliche: “What could possibly go wrong?”

I could further caution people not to attend this event but it’s likely that those planning to go aren’t the types to listen particularly well. So it will be interesting to see if COVID-19 cases do spike because of this, and all we can really say here is “we told you so.”

WATCH:

Gov. Kristi Noem said that attendees of a Fourth of July event would not be required to wear a mask and the crowd would not be social distancing.

"It frightens me, because there are people hearing that thinking we're okay and don't need to do this." – CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta pic.twitter.com/AlJZpxC4vL

— OutFrontCNN (@OutFrontCNN) July 1, 2020