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Clifford The Big Red Dog Under Attack By Christians By David Vandygriff Homophobic Family Keeps Gay Uncle Away For Wedding By Rachel Bennett Trump Administration Proposals Could Increase the Cost of HIV Meds By David Vandygriff Dina Martina’s Five Favorite Things about New Orleans By Dan Roberts California’s Sonoma Wine Country Thrives Once Again By Victory Lopex Facts & Myths About Animal Shelters By Drew Williams
Go Tuk’n Expanding To Include Mobile Bar & Art Show By Jason Williams Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) By CDC
Publisher/Executive Editor David Vandygriff Dvandygriff @cityxtramagazine.com Editor In Chief Dr. Harvey Carr hcarr@cityxtramagazine.com Director of Sales Adam Plante, Esq aplante@cityxtramagazine.com Creative Designer Debbie Johnson Djohnson @cityxtramagazine.com cityXtra Magazine is published by cityXtra Organization Inc . 2941 Plum Street Jacksonville, FL 32205 (904) 300-3320
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Celine Dion Tackles Grief In Courage World Tour By Michael Crawford
Here’s Why Black Voters Know What They Want By Elizabeth Hearn
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‘Clifford
The Big Red Dog Under Attack By Christians By David Vandygriff
An evangelical right-wing Christian group is furious at ‘Clifford the Big Red Dog’ – a kids TV show – because one of the characters has lesbian mums.
The group also slammed PBS when it broadcast an episode of ‘Arthur’ that featured a The group, One Million Moms – same-sex wedding. an astroturf organization from The long-running cartoon the anti-LGBT+ hate group series aired a same-sex American Family Association wedding as part of May 13 that has one staffer and no episode “Mr Ratburn and the members, according to LGBTQ Special Someone,” which Nation – are upset that the revealed teacher Mr Ratburn show contains “a child getting married to another man. character named Samantha “Discussion of such who has two mommies”. controversial topics and One Million Moms has now lifestyle choices should be left launched an “action alert” up to parents. PBS KIDS targeting the educational PBS should not introduce the show, which is based on a LGBTQ lifestyle to young series of children’s books from children,” the group the 1960s of the same name. complained. “There was no disclaimer at the “PBS KIDS should stick to beginning of the episode where entertaining and providing their family-friendly programming, relationship is instead of pushing an agenda.” explained,” the alert warns. An email from the anti-LGBT+
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group’s leader, Monica Cole, said: “Apparently featuring a same-sex wedding between two males on the children’s animated series Arthur wasn’t enough for those who are pro-LGBTQ at PBS KIDS. “And if a same-sex wedding and a same-sex relationship in children’s programming weren’t enough, PBS recently announced that Sesame Street will feature a drag queen activist wearing a gender-bender tuxedo gown in one of its episodes this year.” Studies show that children raised by LGBT+ parents actually do better at school, and are just as happy and healthy as children raised by heterosexual parents.
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But tensions finally bubbled over last week when James told his soon-to-be father-in-law Groom’s Homophobic Family Keeps that his parents did not Gay Uncle Away For Wedding By Rachel Bennett want the gay brother at the A man is being slammed on wedding. The man said he was Reddit after he decided not to conflicted because his invite his gay brother to his daughter “always loved” her daughter’s wedding because uncle growing up. the groom’s family is “I told James I was going to homophobic. invite my brother anyways Posting in the “Am I The because he was very close and A*****e” sub-Reddit, the man my daughter would’ve wanted explained that his daughter’s him there,” the man wrote. wedding is approaching, but “They told me that if he were to her in-laws are “very religious”. come, he would have to not “After meeting with them bring his partner.” before, it’s become pretty clear He continued: “Then what they’re extreme homophobes,” happened was James’ parents the man wrote. came over and spoke to us He said that his daughter’s about how they were not going fiancé, who he has referred to to tolerate a gay person at the as “James”, has “no problem wedding, and how it was with gay people” himself, but ’embarrassing’ [to] accept his parents do, which has put someone like that. They told him in an awkward position me that if he were to come, he with his brother. would have to not bring his “My brother is gay and he has partner.” a partner he’s been with for a For some reason, the man few years now,” the man wrote. decided the best course of “James’ family knows about action was to accept this this, and it’s something they horrific ultimatum from his are really bothered by. They daughter’s in-laws. He went to don’t directly tell us, but they’ve his brother and told him that his mentioned it to James who has husband was not welcome at told my daughter who told me.” the wedding. Needless to say, The fiancé’s homophobic family he didn’t take the news well. do not want the gay man and “My brother said that if he was his husband at the wedding. coming, so would his partner. I then told him he couldn’t come because James’ parents would make a scene. He then called 08 www.cityxtramagazine.com
me a d**k and said that I don’t have to listen to them and if I truly wanted them to come, I would invite them anyway.” Reddit users overwhelmingly criticized the man for siding with the fiancé’s homophobic family. The man was declared an a*****e by Reddit users. One person accused him of making a “homophobic choice”. The same user also slammed him for making the decision without his daughter’s input. Another said: “Every time someone says, ‘don’t invite X because I’m bigoted towards them’, the correct answer is to not invite the bigot.” Somebody else said: “The fact that the [original poster] even considered it a possibility to not invite their brother because the in-laws are homophobic shows that the [they] see at least some legitimacy in their point of view and means that the [original poster] is homophobic.” The man later posted an update and said that he had decided to broach the situation with his daughter. She immediately decided she wanted her uncle and his husband at the wedding. “Judging by the comments most of you hate me but I’m going to try and right this wrong and will stand up for my brother and his partner at the wedding. And please I’m not homophobic,” he added.
Trump Administration Proposals Could Increase the Cost of HIV Meds By David Vandygriff
The Trump administration has vowed to end HIV and lower drug prices, but two policies proposed by the Department Health and Human Services (HHS) could have just the opposite effect, especially for people who need HIV medication or pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). HIV advocates are sounding the alarm about a policy that disallows manufacturers’ rebates, or coupons, to count toward customers’ out-ofpocket costs, as well as another policy that weakens a non-discrimination clause in the Affordable Care Act. Advocates say these policies could increase what people pay for HIV medications. Drug manufacturers’ copay rebates or coupons are issued to the patient to lower the cost of some of the most expensive drugs. The money had been applied to deductibles, so that sometime during the year, the out-of-pocket maximum would be reached. In 2018, some insurers quietly launched copay accumulator adjustment programs, which allow an insurance middleman, the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), to not apply those coupons to a customer’s 10 www.cityxtramagazine.com
deductible or outof-pocket maximum. This doesn’t render the coupons worthless. Customers can still use them to get cheaper drugs—but they will continue to pay out of pocket for much longer than they might expect. In April 2019, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), a division of HHS, released a new policy (called the Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters, or NBPP) effectively prohibiting copay accumulator adjustment programs in most circumstances. In August, the same year, CMS reversed this policy when it released an FAQ referencing a guidance document issued in 2004 by the IRS, which specified that copay coupons must be excluded from the calculation of an enrollee’s deductible in all instances. Essentially, this means CMS has not been enforcing its original provision to allow manufacturers’ coupons to count toward enrollees’ out-of-pocket expenses for this year. After a comment period that ends March 2, 2020, CMS will issue a 2021 NBPP sometime this spring, and it’s not clear what the determination on
copay coupons will be. HIV advocates, as well as health care advocates generally, are worried. Copay accumulator adjustment programs affect all patients who require specialty meds, but they could especially wreak havoc on those who need HIV medication or PrEP, according to Michael Shankle, M.P.H., senior director of advocacy at HealthHIV. “We want patients to access meds, and this rule change, if it goes through, will guarantee that many people, especially those on HIV treatment, will stop taking their meds,” he said. “And that would cause many people’s viral load to rise and could cause the meds to become ineffective if they restart treatment.” Rachel Klein, deputy executive director of The AIDS Institute, said that CMS’s reversal doesn’t benefit anyone except the insurer or the pharmacy benefit managers. “This policy punishes patients,” she said. “Customers using coupons to pay for pricey meds will get a shock when they learn that the free money no longer counts
toward their out-of-pocket maximums. That policy is buried in the fine print.” The use of drug rebates has been under discussion for some time, and HHS Secretary Alex Azar last year suggested they are one of the reasons drug prices are so high. “Today’s rebate system is set up in the shadows to serve entrenched interests— drug companies who set these prices so high and the pharmacy benefit managers who receive billions of dollars in rebates without patients ever knowing where the money goes,” he said. However, the latest proposal to prohibit coupons from applying toward out-of-pocket costs does nothing to eliminate these rebate programs. In fact, rebates now benefit insurance companies by letting them double dip: they receive customers’ full copays—with the manufacturers’ coupons— and extend the duration of patients’ deductibles. Arizona, Illinois, Virginia, and West Virginia have all banned copay accumulator adjustment programs—and other states are considering similar provisions. More than 50 HIV and LGBT advocacy groups signed and sent a letter to CMS last month. The letter not only slams CMS for a policy that would “severely limit access to these assistance programs,” it says the agency misinterpreted the 2004 IRS notice which it used to say the
2020 NBPP policy conflicted with requirements for high-deductible health plans with health savings accounts. According to Wayne Turner, J.D., senior attorney at the National Health Law Program, there is no good rationale for CMS’s reversal on copay accumulator adjustment programs. “The administration said it wants to lower the cost of prescription [drugs], but their actions undercut that goal,” Turner said. He added that if CMS wanted to steer patients away from higher-cost drugs, its stated goal, it could let insurers do this through prior authorizations, or by step therapy, which could work for some medications, but not for HIV treatment. The National Health Law Program and The AIDS Institute have set up a portal for public comments. If the NBPP rule goes down allowing copay accumulator adjustment programs, advocates say Congress will need to intervene and stop it, though they’re resigned to any effort being stopped in the Republican-controlled Senate.
existing conditions, or making it harder for them to get insurance. Section 1557 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in certain health programs or activities. The proposed rule would eliminate certain provisions in 1557, including the requirement that covered entities publish nondiscrimination notices and include “taglines” in foreign languages on all significant publications. HHS claims eliminating the tagline requirement would save the health care industry billions in unnecessary regulatory costs.
According to Michael Shankle, people with HIV, even if they’re asymptomatic and undetectable, should qualify as a protected class, and 1557 was one of the ACA provisions that kept insurance companies from doing a run around the ACA. “The new proposal, which not only ends notifying people of their rights, would let insurers do what Florida did, with no mechanisms for individuals to challenge violations,” he said. Against the spirit and the Rolling Back Discrimination letter of the ACA, Florida insurers—CoventryOne, Protections Cigna, Humana, and PreAlso last year, the ferred Medical—had been administration proposed requiring customers with HIV eliminating key protections of to pay higher out-of-pocket the Affordable Care Act’s costs for their medications, (ACA) nondiscrimination including generics. After The provision, Section 1557. The AIDS Institute and the ACA prevents insurers from National Health Law Program excluding people with prefiled a complaint with HHS’s
Office for Civil Rights in 2014, the companies revised their policies. Klein said revising 1557 or any antidiscrimination language in the ACA opens the door to “indirect and insidious discrimination.” “In Florida, they were trying to manipulate benefit designs to discourage people with HIV from selecting those plans,” she said. “We need to prevent [the administration] from allowing new hoops for patients, like letting insurers put drugs for certain disorders on a higher tier when there’s no generic equivalent.” “Cost Containment” Could Also Affect Prices Shankle said that HIV advocates need to keep an eye on other administration proposals that could hurt people with HIV, and he pointed to a new CMS project called, “Healthy Adult Opportunity,” which allows states to conduct pilot projects on how cost-containment measures might impact people on Medicaid. Spoiler alert: Shankle says, “Cost containment by limiting payout under Medicaid will hurt the poorest Americans.” Klein said the health advocacy community needs to be vigilant about any administration proposals that would, directly or indirectly, hurt people with HIV. “The administration says they want to lower drug prices and says they want an end to HIV, but their policies could have the opposite effect,” she said. 12 www.cityxtramagazine.com
Dina Martina’s Five Favorite Things about New Orleans By Dan Roberts
What is a Dina Martina show: Is it drag? Is it performance art? Is it a rallying cry for the unhinged among us? Perhaps, yes. Labels aside, Dina’s shows are irreverent, unusual, and not always politically correct. But after you think about the jokes for a moment, they can be laugh-out-loud funny. This is next-level drag, the kind of show that is best enjoyed with an open mind, and perhaps an open tab at the bar. GayCities absolutely adores Dina Martina. GayCities is also a huge fan of New Orleans, so when Dina announced her upcoming show Forgotten but Not Gone in NOLA, we asked her to share her favorite things about visiting the city. Enjoy!
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DINA’S 5 FAVORITE THINGS TO DO IN NOLA 1) I like to go to The Bayou, cuz it’s fun but in a swampy way and stuff hangs down and crocodiles and dinosaurs are livin’ their lives hangin’ tough and shopping, etc. 2) I like to do The Mardi Gras cuz it’s fun but in a party-hardy way LOL and there’s lotsa hooch and confetti and beads of the world and boobs of the world, but yeah, all kindsa beads: shiny beads, string beads, Mexican jumping beads, bath oil beads, refried beads, etc. Masks. 3) I like The Mighty Mississippi cuz she’s “The Gateway to the
NOLA” and she’s moist and she carries plastic bags out to the Pacific Ocean Plastic Bag Island™ so they can be reunited with all the other plastic bags and they can party down. 4) I like The French Quarter cuz they pronounce it “French Quahtah” and they French kiss all the tourists and all the restaurants serve French toast and French fries and French dip sandwiches and all the gift shoppes sell French ticklers. 5) Golden Corral.
California’s Sonoma Wine Country Thrives Once Again By Victory Lopez
Sonoma County is part of the world-famous “California wine country,” and is a popular vacation and day-trip destination, as visitors flock to the region’s award-winning wine tasting rooms and restaurants. Sonoma includes the poplar gay resort area of Russian River, particularly popular for its beautiful woodland scenery; with Napa Valley to the east, these hills lined with vineyards are a gorgeous part of California. Northern California suffered terrible losses between 2017 and 2019, as wildfires burned millions of acres of land, and the images of scorched earth played out in news stories around the world. But the fires hopscotched through Sonoma, and much of the wine-growing region escaped with little damage. And California wine country continues to grow those magic grapes.
making plans for his big event, to be held July 1622, 2020, to see how things really are in Sonoma County. After the fires in northern California, how is Sonoma? Although awful both in 2017 and 2019, these tragedies bring out the best in people and our community. We bounce back, because there is no other choice. But were any vineyards damaged? The fires did burn down a couple of wineries, but otherwise there was very little vineyard damage. And nature is amazing, to see how it comes back. The media made it seem like all of Sonoma was on fire when it wasn’t
winery, with rolling hills and vineyards all around along with an amazing variety of wines. They are most famous for their Cinq Cepage, a Bordeaux-style red. And for those of us who don’t know what that means, what is a Bordeaux-style red? Bordeaux refers to the region in France where the grapes are grown, and typically the Bordeaux region is known for their blends, of Cabernet, Merlot, petit Verdot, Malbec and Cab Franc. Earthy flavors, full body. What do you do at Gay Wine Week, besides drink wine for several days? Which sounds Which property is hosting really fun. Gay Wine Weekend? While it is about the wine, Gay The Lodge at Sonoma is the Wine Week is also about Gary Saperstein is the owner of host hotel, and a number of bringing people together from Out in the Vineyard, the events take place there. There our community, and our allies, organization that hosts the are also winery tours and to experience the wine country annual Gay Wine Week in winemaker dinners that take lifestyle. It is a very social event Sonoma County, which is a place at a number of as well, where people from all wonderful event featuring restaurants and wineries over the country come parties, dinners, and tours of throughout the week. The together. I am excited for the some of Sonoma’s best twilight T-Dance will take place Russian River Winery tour with wineries. cityXtra checked in at Chateau St. Jean, which is Jim Obergefell, who is with Saperstein as he was one of the iconic wineries in co-owner of Equality Vines. 16 www.cityxtramagazine.com Sonoma Valley. It is a stunning
your iPhone or iPad. Passport is a great travel resource with in-depth articles about exotic destinations, travel gear and much more. In addition to Passport Magazine, GayCities is a popular website to check out for gay travel information. Plan your next getaway using more than 200 extensive city guides, a LGBT events calendar and other unique features. Register to become part of the GayCities community and connect with other travelers. Ask questions and get real answers from locals or t ravelers in the know. For the tech savvy, check out the nifty GayCities app. Gay-ville may not have a mobile app yet, but it’s a great website to get tips from locals, pick up the local lingo and find low-cost accommodations in a few gay-friendly destinations around the world, including Rio de Janeiro, Mykonos, Berlin and Sydney. Don’t be startled, but this website appears to be more popular among gay travelers in Europe. However, we’re sure you’ll be able to glean some helpful information, especially if you’re into couch surfing and crashing in a host family’s spare bedroom.
Facts & Myths About Animal Shelters By Drew Williams
Often when it comes to animal shelters, people fall into the “It’s too depressing to go there, and they are unpredictable” camp or the “I go all the time to help out and interact with dogs and cats” camp. The reason for either point of view pertains primarily to whether information regarding animal shelters is accepted as factual or falsehoods. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals provides this information: 1. Myth: Shelter animals are too aggressive to own safely. Fact: Few animals are actually seized in criminal cases due to aggression; most are strays or involve situations of neglect.
often managed by paid staff and volunteers who are involved because they have empathy for the animals and desire to care for them and find them adequate homes. ASPCA pointed out: “Not only is this [myth] untrue, but the conditions of many breeding facilities or puppy mills (which supply pet stores that sell dogs) are nothing short of horrific.”
4. Myth: All pets have something wrong with them. Fact: They are checked over and often given shots, baths and medical attention if necessary. Shelters will not adopt out animals with untreatable health conditions. 5. Myth: Going to shelters is always an unpleasant experience. Fact: Most are 3. Myth: Older cats and dogs in designed with “cheerful colors” shelters will not bond with new and “play yards” or play rooms. owners. Fact: Cited ASPCA, Volunteers and staff spend “Age is not a determining factor time with animals, and animals in an animal’s affection toward enjoy visitors. humans or its ability to bond 6. Myth: There are only mixed with them.” breeds, never purebred dogs California-founded and -based and cats. Fact: “According to The Michelson Found Animals several studies, up to 25% of Foundation shared five animals at shelters are 2. Myth: Shelters are not as additional myths about purebreds,” asserted The clean as pet stores and breedshelters, including: Michelson Found Animals ing facilities. Fact: Shelters are Foundation.
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‒ $4,000 to the Jacksonville chapter of PFLAG for administrative support and community outreach. The organization supports the LGBTQ community and their parents and allies and advocates for diversity. Administered by The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida, the fund is a giving circle, a group who pool their charitable gifts to have a greater impact on the community. The fund has awarded $725,000 since its inception, including substantial grants to organizations representing youth, elders and on-campus services. It also invested $168,000 on local research and public meetings about LGBTQ issues.
Go Tuk’n Expanding To Include Mobile Bar & Art Show By Jason Williams
A local business that offers sightseeing tours and tours of local breweries is expanding her business to include a new public art tour and a mobile bar service for events. Go Tuk’n, founded in 2017 by Stephanie Dale and her husband Steven Dix, offer a variety of group tours, but they try to stand apart from the typical tour by using a special vehicle called tuk-tuks. A type of motorized rickshaw, tuk-tuks are used all over the world but are frequently found in Asia and Europe. Dale said her company’s tuk-tuks are a European design, meaning they’re larger and more environmentally friendly.
“This tour makes us and the artists proud to have Go Tuk’n bring this tour to our city,” said Jessica Santiago, CEO of ArtRepublic Global, in a press release. “This will allow locals and visitors alike to see the works of art we have so passionately contributed to our city. The word ‘tour’ doesn’t do it justice.” Additionally, Go Tuk’n added a new, custom tuk-tuk to their fleet of vehicles at the beginning of the year. The new vehicle, which Dale calls the “Tuk’n Wine & Taps,” is a four-tap mobile bar vehicle that’s geared towards catering events that range from “They have special commercial weddings to corporate gatherings. grade batteries, so we can literally go up to about 100 “We actually fabricated this and miles per charge on them,” kind of designed it with private Dale said. events and corporate events in The group has offered a variety mind,” Dale said. “We can of themed tours, such as tours customize different features on the tuk-tuks. I can actually buy of historic neighborhoods or the beer, wine, champagne or local breweries – as well as family-friendly scavenger hunt wine-based spirts – that way the brides or the corporate tours – but they’ve recently event people, they don’t have partnered with the Jacksonville-based ArtRepublic to run around and try to figure Global to offer tours that focus out what they’re going to get.” on public art in the urban core. With a fleet of four tour tuk-tuks and one bar tuk-tuk, Go Tuk’n 20 www.cityxtramagazine.com
employs around 10 people. Each tuk-tuk, excluding the mobile bar, seats six people, giving the company a total capacity of 24 people per tour. Dale declined to comment on the price of a tuk-tuk, but she did say the vendor of the vehicles was eTuk USA. A press release from the company in May 2017 said the base price for the 6-passenger model that Go Tuk’n uses has a base price of $17,995. Dale said the company plans to expand both the tours that are offered and their fleet of vehicles as demand continues to grow. “We’ll continue to expand even more options into the urban core,” Dale said. “We’re always adding on – whether its distilleries or breweries – in that regard. If other places want to come up with some unique fun things on the private event-side, that’s always an option for expanding too.” Dale said that any expansion outside of Jacksonville would likely target areas like Amelia Island, but she’s also considering a longer distance expansion to Gainesville or
Tallahassee. When asked where she got the idea of a tuk-tuk tour company, Dale said she initially started in the tourism business as a travel agent – a service which she still offers under the title Cruise Planners – Stephanie J. Dale & Associates. An avid traveler herself, she said her favorite part about seeing new places are tours, and during one trip she noticed tuk-tuks being used in Costa Rica. “I just thought it was such a fun idea and that we could use it,” Dale said. “Then we went on a quest to find these – it took me multiple years – and we finally bought them, and we love it.”
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Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) By CDC
Background CDC is responding to an outbreak of respiratory disease caused by a novel (new) coronavirus that was first detected in China and which has now been detected in almost 70 locations internationally, including in the United States. The virus has been named “SARS-CoV-2” and the disease it causes has been named “coronavirus disease 2019” (abbreviated “COVID-19”). On January 30, 2020, the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee of the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a “public health emergency of international concernexternal icon” (PHEIC). On January 31, 2020, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared a public health emergency (PHE) for the United States to aid the nation’s healthcare community in responding to COVID-19. Source and Spread of the Virus Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are 22 www.cityxtramagazine.com
including in the United States. Some international destinations common in people and many now have apparent community different species of animals, spread with the virus that including camels, cattle, cats, causes COVID-19, including in and bats. Rarely, animal some parts of the United coronaviruses can infect States. Community spread people and then spread means some people have been between people such as with infected and it is not known MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, and how or where they became now with this new virus (named exposed. Learn what is known SARS-CoV-2). about the spread of this newly emerged coronaviruses. The SARS-CoV-2 virus is a betacoronavirus, like Situation in U.S. MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV. Imported cases of COVID-19 in All three of these viruses have travelers have been detected in their origins in bats. The the U.S.Person-to-person sequences from U.S. patients spread of COVID-19 was first are similar to the one that reported among close contacts China initially posted, of returned travelers from suggesting a likely single, Wuhan. recent emergence of this virus During the week of February from an animal reservoir. 23, CDC reported community Early on, many of the patients spread of the virus that causes at the epicenter of the outbreak COVID-19 in California (in two in Wuhan, Hubei Province, places), Oregon and China had some link to a large Washington. Community seafood and live animal spread in Washington resulted market, suggesting animal-to- in the first death in the United person spread. Later, a States from COVID-19, as well growing number of patients as the first reported case of reportedly did not have COVID-19 in a health care exposure to animal markets, worker, and the first potential indicating person-to-person outbreak in a long-term care spread. Person-to-person facility. spread was subsequently reported outside Hubei and in countries outside China,
Illness Severity
criteria of a pandemic. As community spread is detected Both MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV have been known in more and more countries, the world moves closer toward to cause severe illness in meeting the third criteria, people. The complete clinical picture with regard to COVID- worldwide spread of the new virus. 19 is not fully understood. Reported illnesses have Reported community spread of ranged from mild to severe, COVID-19 in parts of the including illness resulting in United States raises the level death. While information so far of concern about the suggests that most COVID-19 immediate threat for COVID-19 illness is mild, a reportexternal for those communities. The icon out of China suggests potential public health threat serious illness occurs in 16% of posed by COVID-19 is very cases. Older people and high, to the United States and people with certain underlying globally. health conditions like heart At this time, however, most disease, lung disease and people in the United States will diabetes, for example, seem to have little immediate risk of be at greater risk of serious exposure to this virus. This illness. virus is NOT currently There are ongoing spreading widely in the United investigations to learn more. States. However, it is important This is a rapidly evolving to note that current global situation and information will be circumstances suggest it is updated as it becomes likely that this virus will cause a available. pandemic. This is a rapidly evolving situation and the risk Risk Assessment assessment will be updated as Outbreaks of novel virus needed. infections among people are Current risk assessment: always of public health concern. The risk from these For most of the American outbreaks depends on public, who are unlikely to be characteristics of the virus, exposed to this virus at this including how well it spreads time, the immediate health risk between people, the severity of from COVID-19 is considered resulting illness, and the low. medical or other measures People in communities where available to control the impact ongoing community spread of the virus (for example, with the virus that causes vaccine or treatment COVID-19 has been reported medications). The fact that this are at elevated, though still disease has caused illness, relatively low risk of exposure. including illness resulting in Healthcare workers caring for death, and sustained person-to patients with COVID-19 are at -person spread is concerning. elevated risk of exposure. These factors meet two of the
Close contacts of persons with COVID-19 also are at elevated risk of exposure. Travelers returning from affected international locations where community spread is occurring also are at elevated risk of exposure. CDC has developed guidance to help in the risk assessment and management of people with potential exposures to COVID-19. What May Happen More cases of COVID-19 are likely to be identified in the coming days, including more cases in the United States. It’s also likely that person-toperson spread will continue to occur, including in communities in the United States. It’s likely that at some point, widespread transmission of COVID-19 in the United States will occur. Widespread transmission of COVID-19 would translate into large numbers of people needing medical care at the same time. Schools, childcare centers, workplaces, and other places for mass gatherings may experience more absenteeism. Public health and healthcare systems may become overloaded, with elevated rates of hospitalizations and deaths. Other critical infrastructure, such as law enforcement, emergency medical services, and transportation industry may also be affected. Health care providers and hospitals may be overwhelmed. At this time, there is no vaccine to protect against COVID-19 and
no medications approved to treat it. Nonpharmaceutical interventions would be the most important response strategy. CDC Response Global efforts at this time are focused concurrently on containing the spread and mitigating the impact of this virus. The federal government is working closely with state, local, tribal, and territorial partners, as well as public health partners, to respond to this public health threat. The public health response is multi-layered, with the goal of detecting and minimizing introductions of this virus in the United States. CDC is operationalizing all of its pandemic preparedness and response plans, working on multiple fronts to meet these goals, including specific measures to prepare communities to respond to local transmission of the virus that causes COVID-19. There is an abundance of pandemic guidance developed in 24 www.cityxtramagazine.com
anticipation of an influenza pandemic that is being repurposed and adapted for a COVID-19 pandemic. CDC Recommends Everyone can do their part to help us respond to this emerging public health threat: It’s currently flu and respiratory disease season and CDC recommends getting a flu vaccine, taking everyday preventive actions to help stop the spread of germs, and taking flu antivirals if prescribed. If you are a healthcare provider, be on the look-out for: People who recently traveled from China or another affected area and who have symptoms associated with COVID-19, and
caring for a COVID-19 patient, please take care of yourself and follow recommended infection control procedures. If you are a close contact of someone with COVID-19 and develop symptoms of COVID19, call your healthcare provider and tell them about your symptoms and your exposure. If you are a resident in a community where person-toperson spread of COVID-19 has been detected and you develop COVID-19 symptoms, call your healthcare provider and tell them about your symptoms. For people who are ill with COVID-19, but are not sick enough to be hospitalized, please follow CDC guidance on how to reduce the risk of spreading your illness to others. People who are mildly ill with COVID-19 are able to isolate at home during their illness. If you have been in China or another affected area or have been exposed to someone sick with COVID-19 in the last 14 days, you will face some limitations on your movement and activity for up to 14 days. Please follow instructions during this time. Your cooperation is integral to the ongoing public health response to try to slow spread of this virus.
People who have been in close contact with someone with COVID-19 or pneumonia of unknown cause. (Consult the most recent definition for For the most current patients under investigation information please visit [PUIs].) www.CDC.org If you are a healthcare provider or a public health responder
Celine Dion Tackles Grief In Courage World Tour By Michael Crawford
We don’t always associate pop music with gut-wrenching reality, but after the tragic death of both Celine Dion’s husband and her brother in January 2016, the Canadian chanteuse’s songs of love and heartbreak have taken on a deeper resonance. Nowhere is that more evident than on her new album, Courage. Released last fall, the record is not only a deeply personal acknowledgment of her grief but also the 51-yearold singer’s declaration that she is not giving up. The Courage World Tour, which kicked off in Quebec in September, is the embodiment of both sentiments: It leans heavily on her classic oeuvre— ”It’s All Coming Back to Me Now,” “That’s the Way It Is,” “I’m Alive”—with a few covers and poignant numbers from her latest release.
show us just how nubile they are, Dion makes no attempt to hide her years—or her continued sorrow. (Dion’s 92-year-old mother, Thérèse, died last month after a long struggle with cancer.)
when to hit the power notes. Despite this newfound gravitas, she offered up moments of cheeseball frivolity, too—gay fans, in particular, understand the need to celebrate in the When she rose from beneath face of devastating loss. She the stage wearing a sky-highcracked wise, flexed her slit red gown at Atlantic City’s biceps, and mugged for the Boardwalk Hall in late giant video screen. February, both her boldness Acknowledging that it’s been a and fragility were on display. decade since she played AC, During her costume changes, Dion joked about being locked beautiful video projections up in the Nevada desert during offered close-ups of the her Vegas residency. A medley Grammy winner’s narrow, incorporating David Bowie, Botox-free face, which was Queen, Prince, and Tina etched with sadness and Turner was pure Vegas hard-earned wisdom. schmaltz, with Dion dolled up in a sequined jumpsuit from But Courage isn’t just about Project Runway alum Michael Dion: Throughout the show, she invited the audience to sing Costello. along, teaching some 10,000 In fact, the show is filled with fans the chorus to John glorious fashion moments, from Farnham’s 1986 single “You’re the mammoth tear-away the Voice.” She was backed by sleeves she wears during “To a 17-person band and joyfully Love You More” to the “I still come home from a long diaphanous Zac Posen gown day / So much to talk about, so shared the spotlight with her backup singer Barnev Valsaint she dons for “My Heart Will Go much to say,” she sings in during a duet of “Beauty and On.” She flaunts the same Courage’s title track. “I love to the Beast.” Sharing music has no-fucks-given attitude she think that we’re still making always been healing for Dion, exhibited in her stunning, plans / In conversations that’ll one of 14 kids in a musical hilarious Vogue magazine never end.” family, and her voice has never video from 2017. While many middle-aged sounded better—she’s evolved While Dion was once teased entertainers desperately try to from a musical ingenue into a for her awkward gesticulation consummate diva who knows 26 www.cityxtramagazine.com
(think Ana Gasteyer’s Saturday Night Live impersonation from the ’90s), she’s in command of her body these days; it’s both an extension of her performance and an instrument in its own right. As a video cutaway illustrates, Dion has taken up ballet in recent years, working under the tutelage of ex-tour dancer Naomi Stikeman and Cirque du Soleil performer Pepe Muñoz. It’s incredible that after nearly 40 years in show business, she has not just survived but grown as an entertainer. Another artist might have collapsed nder so much loss. But Dion has rededicated herself to her music, her fans, and her life. The Courage World Tour runs through September 2020 with upcoming stops in Brooklyn, Pittsburgh, Denver, and Washington, D.C.
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was missing. Biden knows the recipe.” In the days since the field broke sharply for Biden, Here’s Why Black Voters supporters for Know What They Want other By Elizabeth Hearn candidates have Sheila Tyson knows Southern expressed disbelief at best — politics. derision and racist disdain at The Birmingham, Alabama, worst — for the black voters native registers voters — responsible for his recent Republicans and Democrats, successes. But for many black black, white, Latino and Asian voters, Biden was the best — helping them get known option; the candidate identification and persuades with the right experience who them to get in the policymaking could appeal to the widest process. cross-section of Democrats. He Tyson, 58, was one of millions was, to others, President of black Super Tuesday voters Barack Obama’s forever vice president, a man who could key to former Vice President Joe Biden’s victory in 10 of the take on President Donald 14 states holding primaries that Trump in what could be a bare-knuckles battle for the day. Tuesday’s sweeping win White House. mirrored Biden’s strong showing just days earlier in He also had a meaningful South Carolina’s primary, ground game, according to where many black voters Tyson. described him as the practical Jill Biden, the candidate’s wife, choice, not necessarily their visited Birmingham, where first choice. Tyson lives, multiple times. “I think he has direct Biden’s staff met with black knowledge of the president’s voters to talk about their top seat,” Tyson said. “We don’t priorities and accepted what need anyone going into the Tyson called “a packet” from White House behind this mess activists outlining those that Trump has created, concerns. The Biden campaign practicing and trying to get it bought tables at local together. It’s like trying to make banquets, ads in local event a cake. There’s a certain kind programs and ran what Tyson of cook, like my grandmamma, called “a real campaign on who could come in, taste the what we knew was a limited mix and tell you exactly what budget.” In comparison, while Tyson 30 www.cityxtramagazine.com
had never in her 21 years in politics seen anything like the television ad blitz from the billionaire businessman and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg. But where she didn’t see him was on the ground: Not at a Birmingham church, school or community center. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., had big ideas but few details, she said. And Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., was bright, admirable and, of course, had intricate plans but did not register as someone with the capacity to deliver “a sailor’s cussing” in combat with Trump, Taylor said. Then there was Biden’s own presence in Alabama. In January, he spoke at the 16th Street Baptist Church, site of a 1963 bombing by white supremacists that killed four black children. And when he stopped Sunday in Alabama after a resounding win in South Carolina, he committed to some of the issues listed in the packet: a $15 an hour federal minimum wage, expanding Obamacare, eliminating gender and racial pay disparities, and support for a modern, rail-based mass transit system in Alabama. By Super Tuesday, Tyson was team Biden. Deborah Breedlove, a retired financial adviser from Columbia, South Carolina, who is active in local Democratic politics, said that her vote for Biden hinged on a realistic approach to putting a Democrat in the White House.
"I sensed a strong lean toward
Biden that had nothing to do with conservatism or moderate thinking," she said. "Older African Americans know the deal and the hand dealt to us. The sooner we feel our power, the sooner this destructive administration will be dismantled.” An NBC News analysis of exit polling data found that among all voters, those who prioritized the defeat of Trump in November voted overwhelmingly for Biden. But, the pragmatism of black voters, experts say, should not best on the issues. It’s a lot of, be confused with ignorance or ‘I'm with him because I think some form of political captivity. he’s the best person who can beat Trump.’” “That’s not unlike our day-today life,” Candis Smith, an In North Charleston, South associate professor of political Carolina, last week, Black science and African American Voters Matter held a forum. studies at Penn State, said. Health care, specifically “How black folks navigate the “Medicare for All,” and medical world, how we deal with every costs prompted the largest major feature of our lives must number of “moans and amens,” involve some sort of calculation he said. But when the about what white people are organization conducted an going to do, is this safe to do onsite poll, Sanders, the around them, what will the candidate who has called for consequences be? How must I universal health care, lost by a smile to ease any fear you may few votes. have of me? Which injustice “That’s something because, will I protest? That is part of that’s just not the way we have black life in America. Why would voting be any different?” made change in this country,” Albright said. “Acting in concert Others see a self-limiting but with what we think the white logical voting pattern that community will support will not merits examination. get us far. We have always “It’s frustrating,” Cliff Albright, a moved this country forward by forcing other people to adjust co-founder of the nonprofit to what we feel is just and what Black Voters Matter, said. “Even most of the black people we feel is possible.” voting with Biden aren’t with Sitting in the pews at the First him because they think he’s Nazareth Baptist Church in
Columbia, South Carolina, days before the primary, J.P. Jones, 71, a retired school district employee, sighed when asked about her vote. “Biden,” Jones said, “unfortunately.”
The lifelong Democrat added, “I’m going to make a default choice that I’m not excited about.” Jones was excited about Democratic Sens. Kamala Harris of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey and “devastated” when their campaigns ended. To beat Trump, she said, she went with Biden. “I really think he can handle Trump,” she said. “Bernie Sanders is not a Democrat, and I think a lot of his promises are just that — promises.” M.L. Kohn, 69, a retired science educator in Columbia said days before the South Carolina primary, she was deciding between Biden and
Sanders. She liked the Vermont lawmaker’s progressive policies and that he had galvanized young people, but removing Trump from the White House is her top priority. So she went with Biden. “I've been a Bernie advocate but I felt he shot himself in the foot with his Castro statements and his socialism stance — we need a sure winner in November,” she said. “Trump would tie socialist so tight around his neck that he would choke on the debate stage.” Nia Byas, 20, a student studying mass communications at Benedict College, a historically black institution in Columbia, said she liked Warren but ultimately voted for Biden because “he didn’t come to South Carolina using black figures to get black votes.” She said she saw the former vice president himself working for the vote. “Not like Tom Steyer who brought Juvenile, Yolanda Adams, and DJ Jazzy Jeff to a historically black college,” she said, referring to the billionaire activist from California who dropped out of the race Saturday. She said House Majority Whip James Clyburn’s endorsement of Biden did not influence her, but he “would not have won South Carolina if it wasn’t for Clyburn.” James Martin, a veteran born and raised in South Carolina, 32 www.cityxtramagazine.com
retired from a career in sales and marketing in Maine. He arrived at Azalea Drive Church of Christ in North Charleston Saturday with three candidates on his mind. Martin said he was a fan of Bloomberg and Steyer. But Bloomberg wasn’t on the ballot in South Carolina and Steyer, who strikes him as, “a good guy with a good mind,” has no experience and no chance, Martin said. Sanders wasn’t a serious consideration, he added, describing him as an “inexplicably angry white man with few details about how to finance his ideas.” So he cast his ballot for Biden, a fighter with a solid reputation on the world stage. Biden can beat Trump and straighten out the damage the president has done to environmental regulations and Obamacare, Martin said.
“The thing is, Biden does know how to get things done,” Martin said. “Black people, we shed a lot of tears and blood for this privilege. So I am always going to vote. And I am always going to do the practical thing.”