Tag: coronavirus

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News Round-Up: January 4, 2021

Screen capture from Brokeback Mountain

Screen capture from Brokeback Mountain
Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain (screen capture)
Some news items you might have missed: • Out Magazine: The author of Brokeback Mountain says she wishes she’d never written the story because so many people now pen fan fiction based on the characters attempting to give ‘Ennis’ and ‘Jack’ a happy ending. • Acadiana Advocate: Nineteen-year-old Holden White is lucky to have survived a Grindr date gone horribly wrong during which he was strangled, stabbed, hit in the head, and nearly had his hands sawed off. • BosGuy: The new year is here and so is the 2021 Warwick Rowers calendar (below).
The 2021 Warwick Rowers calendar is here
(image via BosGuy)
• Associated Press: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ordered a new 6-week lockdown for England in an attempt to get the new quickly spreading variant of the coronavirus under control. Under the new rules, schools and colleges will be closed for face to face learning except for the children of key workers and vulnerable pupils; all nonessential services like hairdressers will be closed, and restaurants can only operate takeout services. • KFOR News: An Oklahoma City gar bar has been vandalized with food two nights in a row. • Right Wing Watch: Lin Wood, an attorney who has partnered with leaders of the “Stop the Steal” movement and has called on Trump to declare martial law and use the military to oversee a new election, charged on Twitter in the early hours of Monday morning, “I believe Chief Justice John Roberts & a multitude of powerful individuals worldwide are being blackmailed in a horrendous scheme involving rape & murder of children captured on videotape.”

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Dr. Anthony Fauci On COVID-19: ‘The Deaths Are Real’

Dr. Anthony Fauci

Dr. Anthony Fauci
Dr. Anthony Fauci on ‘This Week’ (screen capture)
During an appearance on ABC News’s This Week, Dr. Anthony Fauci shared that he did not foresee how the COVID-19 pandemic death toll in the United States would spin out to such high levels. Fauci pointed to indoor activities and holiday travel for aiding transmission of the virus. He also repeated his call for Americans to take public health precautions seriously if we ever hope to slow the current surge. From ABC News:

“To have 300,000 cases in a given day, and between two and 3,000 deaths a day is just terrible,” the nation’s top infectious disease expert told ABC’s “This Week” Co-anchor Martha Raddatz Sunday. “There’s no running away from the numbers, Martha. It’s something that we absolutely got to grasp and get our arms around and turn that inflection down by very intensive adherence to the public health measures, uniformly, throughout the country, with no exception.”

“The deaths are real deaths,” Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said, when asked by Raddatz for his response to the president’s tweet. “All you need to do is go out into the trenches. Go to the hospitals and see what the health care workers are dealing with. They are under very stressful situations in many areas of the country. The hospital beds are stretched, people are running out of beds, running out of trained personnel who are exhausted.”

“That’s real,” he continued. “That’s not fake. That’s real.”

Just prior to Fauci’s appearance, Donald Trump tweeted (with no evidence) that the numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of infected persons and deaths in the country are “exaggerated.” That’s in spite of nearly every state reporting increased coronavirus infections nationwide. According to Johns Hopkins University COVID tracker, the U.S. this weekend surpassed 20 million reported cases of COVID-19, and the number of deaths has now exceeded 351,000 since the pandemic began 10 months ago.

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Billy Porter Shares Behind-The-Scenes Info From POSE

Billy Porter as 'Pray Tell' on POSE

Billy Porter as 'Pray Tell' on POSE
Billy Porter as ‘Pray Tell’ on POSE (promo photo)
The acclaimed FX series Pose resumed shooting this fall after hitting the pause button due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Emmy Award winner Billy Porter shared some intel from behind-the-scenes when he sat down on Live With Kelly and Ryan this week. “We are shooting Season 3 right now with all of the COVID protocols in place,” Porter told the hosts. “It is not the easiest version of filming a television show that I have been a part of, but I am grateful that we are back to work. Disney is now the parent company of FX, and they have really taken this seriously. They are keeping us all very safe during this process.” What folks really want to know, though, is how are they filming those huge ball scenes created with a soundstage full of actors and extras? “We’re still trying to figure that part out,” Porter admitted. “We have not shot any of the balls yet. We have been shooting the scene work, and I believe we are waiting for the ball sequences to hopefully be shooting them in some sort of vaccine situation. So, we are pushing those scenes to next year.”

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NY Times: Trump Didn’t Want Folks COVID Tested Unless In ER And Vomiting

Donald Trump

Donald Trump
Donald Trump (photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr – CC License)
The New York Times spoke to several White House insiders regarding the whys and wherefores of Donald Trump’s failed response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The upshot seems to be practically every decision was predicated on: what would it mean for Trump? Between Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and not-an-infectious-expert Dr. Scott Atlas bending to Trump’s ego, scientists and doctors had a tough time getting solid health policy implemented. Trump thought wearing face masks wouldn’t appeal to his base, so he didn’t really encourage their use. And he really hated how the positivity rate of testing ‘made him look bad.’ Trump reportedly didn’t want folks tested for COVID until they were so sick they landed in an emergency room and were vomiting. From the New York Times:

It was a warm summer Wednesday, Election Day was looming and President Trump was even angrier than usual at the relentless focus on the coronavirus pandemic.

“You’re killing me! This whole thing is! We’ve got all the damn cases,” Mr. Trump yelled at Jared Kushner, his son-in-law and senior adviser, during a gathering of top aides in the Oval Office on Aug. 19. “I want to do what Mexico does. They don’t give you a test till you get to the emergency room and you’re vomiting.”

Mexico’s record in fighting the virus was hardly one for the United States to emulate. But the president had long seen testing not as a vital way to track and contain the pandemic but as a mechanism for making him look bad by driving up the number of known cases.

“I’m going to lose,” Trump told Kushner during one exchange. “And it’s going to be your fault, because of the testing.” In another episode, Jared Kushner and Hope Hicks tried to get Trump to embrace face mask use but with Meadows and adviser Stephen Miller pushing back, the Donald refused. Read the full report at the New York Times.

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News Round-Up: December 30, 2020

Pro rugby player Devin Ibañez with his boyfriend Fergus
Some news items you might have missed: • Outsports: Devin Ibañez (above), who played professionally in Major League Rugby, has come out as gay in social media posts, saying he has “decided to embrace what I once felt embarrassed of and be proudly and shamelessly myself.” • PBS: Canada will soon require that air travelers test negative for COVID-19 before arrival, federal ministers said on Wednesday after social media images of maskless tourists prompted a call for stricter measures to curb the virus. • NewNowNext: Marcus D’Amico — who brought the beloved Tales of the City character Michael “Mouse” Tolliver to life in the original 1993 PBS miniseries — died from pneumonia on December 16 at the age of 55.
Marcus D’Amico on the right (image via PBS)
• The Hill: The United States on Tuesday broke its record for the most number of coronavirus-related deaths in a single day with 3,725 reported, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. As of Wednesday evening, the U.S. has now recorded a total of 342,312 deaths due to COVID-19. • Reuters: Donald Trump’s pardon of four American men convicted of killing Iraqi civilians while working as contractors in 2007 may have violated U.S. obligations under international law. The Geneva Conventions oblige states to hold war criminals accountable for their crimes, even when they act as private security contractors, the U.N. experts said. • Twitter: As the death toll from the coronavirus passes 341,000+ dead Americans, Donald Trump is back on the golf course today.

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Circuit Gays At It Again, This Time Down In Rio

Rio's Revolution circuit party before the event was shut down

Rio's Revolution circuit party before the event was shut down
(screen capture via Instagram)
Circuit gays from all over the world found themselves party-free on Tuesday night when officials in Rio de Janeiro shut down the Festa Revolution event due to violations regarding health guidelines regarding the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Globo News reports that approximately 2,000 attendees were ejected from the Faro Beach Club when the fire department determined the event had not been approved. While the organizer’s website communicated that health protocols would be followed photos and videos shared on social media clearly showed hardly any face masks to be seen. And social distancing? Forget about it… The Instagram account GaysOverCovid, which shares posts of gay men ignoring COVID restrictions, posted video of the event in full swing followed by officials shutting the party down. The caption on Instagram read, “Revolution: ‘A sudden, complete, or marked change.’ The @revolutionparty in Rio got a revolution of their own tonight. Brazil ain’t playing. They Shut 👏🏻 It 👏🏻 Down. Now go home queens, and quarantine.”

GaysOverCovid also shared photos in their Instagram stories from the event posted throughout the day. As you can see in the pics, there’s hardly a face mask to be found and folks are seriously not social distancing.
Rio's Revolution circuit party
(screen capture)
The party before canceled Folks on Twitter also had some opinions about the possible super-spreader event. One Twitter user shared video from a beach event with barely a face mask in sight. The clip was accompanied by the caption, “MY GOD! Look at CoronaFest that is happening THIS INSTANT in Rio !!! Revolution by Rosane Amaral. CARALEO, NO ONE WILL DO NADAAAAAAA ????”

A notice on Festa Revolution’s Facebook page posted today shared with followers the organizers had been evaluating and studying COVID-19 statistics since March, and in October the rate of infections appeared to be heading downward (according to the statement). In light of that, at the time, the organizers hoped to hold their annual party. “However, due to the municipal decree published by the official city daily of the City of Rio de Janeiro on December 28, 2020 nº 48.322 in article 10, which provides that any license that was still pending authorization could no longer be issued, we have come to inform that the Revolution Party and The Original Brazilian Pool Party are temporarily DELAYED,” read the statement via Google Translate. Continuing, the organizers cited Law No. 14.046/2020, “which states that organizers are dismissed from immediately refunding the values paid by consumers for reservations or events, shows and shows not held, we will make available the value of the ticket purchased in the form of a CREDIT for use in event future to be booked up to 24 months after the end of public calamity state.” In related news, yesterday I reported about a similar event, White Party Puerto Vallarta, set to begin today. No word on if any changes in schedule have been made According to Globo News, Brazil has recorded 7,577,890 cases of coronavirus and 192,716 deaths from COVID-19. In the past 24 hours alone, 1,075 deaths were added to the mounting death toll. (source: Instagram)

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White Party Puerto Vallarta Moving Ahead As COVID Surges

Poster for White Party Puerto Vallarta 20/21

Poster for White Party Puerto Vallarta 20/21
(image via jeffreysanker.com)
As we come to the end of the deadliest month of the coronavirus pandemic, circuit party impresario Jeffrey Sanker is prepping White Party Puerto Vallarta to begin a week of New Year’s celebrations super spreader events nicknamed WPPV20/21. This might be a bad time to get infected with COVID-19. Vallarta Daily News reported on Christmas Day the Puerto Vallarta Regional Hospital is at 100% occupancy with COVID-19 patients. Additionally, the state of Jalisco has reached a 65% positivity rate in testing. Sanker’s official website states health and safety guidelines will be practiced including limited event capacity, temperature checks, and masks required for entry (bolding is mine). Does anyone have a feeling the masks will come off after entering the events? The promotional materials also read: “All state guidelines will be enforced for all guests.”
(image via jeffreysanker.com)
Speaking of guidelines, VisitPuertoVallarta.com recently announced that NEW guidelines are being implemented from December 25 – January 10, 2021 that include: • Suspension of bars and clubs in Puerto Vallarta at 19:00 hours (7 pm) • New Year’s parties and events will be suspended That last bit of information might come as a surprise to Sanker and company as his 10 pm event at Industry Nightclub (which Sanker apparently owns) on January 1 is already sold out. The other three events are being held at Mantamar Beach Club, which is at least outdoors. However, the December 30 event is announced to begin at 6 pm, so…an hour of party time? Some folks chimed in on Sanker’s Facebook page regarding the possibility of the events spreading the virus even more.
(screen capture via Facebook)
Sanker canceled the 2020 edition of his White Party Palm Springs earlier this year. I reached out to Sanker for any updates or changes being considered for White Party Puerto Vallarta in light of the new guidelines. No word back at this time.

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Coronavirus Variant Has Shown Up In Colorado

Photo of coronavirus molecules

Photo of coronavirus molecules
(image via Depositphotos)
The Washington Post reports the first known case in the United States of a person infected with the coronavirus variant has that has been circulating rapidly across much of the United Kingdom has been discovered in Colorado. Officials in the state believe the individual hasn’t had any close contacts but health authorities are conducting contact tracing interviews just in case.

Researchers have now detected the more transmissible variant in viral samples in at least 17 countries outside the United Kingdom, including as far away as Australia and South Korea, as of Tuesday afternoon. Officials in Canada had previously said they identified two cases, the first in North America.

In almost all instances. these cases have been in people who traveled from the United Kingdom, and there is no sign so far that the variant is spreading rapidly in these other countries, including the United States.

While the variant appears to spread more easily, it does not make people sicker or more likely to die, scientists in the United Kingdom reported late Monday.

The patient is a male in his 20s who is currently in isolation in Elbert County. He reportedly has no travel history, according to the tweet Gov. Jared Polis below.

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Donald Trump Signs Stimulus Bill, Wins Nothing With Delay

Donald Trump (screen capture)

Donald Trump signed the new stimulus package approved by a bipartisan Congress after days of delays
Donald Trump during ABC News Town Hall (screen capture)
UPDATE: After waiting days to sign the stimulus package passed in Congress by overwhelming margins and negotiated with Donald Trump’s Treasury Secretary as his stand-in, Trump finally signed off on the package. His delay may have cost Americans on unemployment $300 each in enhanced federal benefits, thank you very much. Politico rightfully ripped Trump a new one:

THAT’S IT? President DONALD TRUMP made all this noise about the Covid relief and government funding bill only to sign it and get nothing in return?

TRUMP got taken to the cleaners.

WHAT A BIZARRE, embarrassing episode for the president. He opposed a bill his administration negotiated. He had no discernible strategy and no hand to play — and it showed. He folded, and got nothing besides a few days of attention and chaos. People waiting for aid got a few days of frightening uncertainty.

ZIP. ZERO. ZILCH. If he was going to give up this easy, he should’ve just kept quiet and signed the bill. It would’ve been less embarrassing.

The Washington Post reports Donald Trump has signaled to aides he will sign the stimulus and spending bills passed by Congress potentially avoiding a crisis.

President Trump has indicated that he will sign the stimulus bill into law before Monday night’s deadline and avert a government shutdown, two people familiar with his plans said Sunday evening, a move that would release $900 billion in stimulus funds as soon as possible.

Trump’s new decision to sign the bill came less than a week after he demanded changes to it and had suggested he would refuse to sign it into law. On Tuesday, he referred to the bill as a “disgrace” but he signaled on Sunday he would sign it after all.

The government was set to shut down on Tuesday if Trump did not sign the bill into law. The spending package also included a new round of stimulus checks, unemployment aid, and small business assistance, among other things.

Folks close to Trump say it’s still not a done deal as the Donald has apparently changed his mind on signing the bill several times. The bipartisan bill that was negotiated with Trump’s Treasury Secretary, Steve Mnuchin, was overwhelmingly passed in both chambers of Congress. Trump threw an unexpected wrench into the deal when he suddenly demanded $2,000 checks (instead of $600) to be sent to all eligible Americans.

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Trump: Florida ‘Doing Well’ Without ‘Lockdowns’ As State Passes 21K Deaths From COVID

New York state is about to drop its face mask mandate as COVID-19 cases continue to drop in the Empire State.

Donald Trump tweeted today criticism about the pandemic situation in California adding that Florida is “open & doing well.” According to the Orlando Sentinel, Florida added 17,042 positive COVID-19 cases today bringing its total to 1,264,588 as the death toll from the virus has risen to 21,135. The Sunshine State has a population of around 21.5 million, which breaks down to one in 17 people in the state who have now tested positive for the virus. California has almost double the population (39.5 million) of Florida and has fewer cases per capita than Florida. Across the U.S., one in 18 have tested positive for the virus, and one in 98 globally. So, no – that’s not doing “well.”