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Pacific Northwest News q Volume 31 Number 8 q August 2, 2021 q www.asianreporter.com American gymnast Sunisa Lee takes Olympic gold
AMAZING ATHLETE. Sunisa Lee of the United States performs on the balance beam during the artistic gymnastics women’s all-around final at the 2020 Summer Olympics on July 29, 2021 in Tokyo. Lee won gold in the event. The victory marked the fifth straight win by a U.S. woman, with the past three Olympic champions all being women of color. See story on page 12. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
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Man with coronavirus disguised as wife on Indonesian flight TERNATE, Indonesia (AP) — An Indonesian man with the coronavirus last month boarded a domestic flight disguised as his wife, wearing a niqab covering his face and carrying fake IDs and a negative PCR test result. But the cover didn’t last long. Police say a flight attendant aboard a Citilink plane travelling from Jakarta to Ternate in North Maluku province noticed the man change clothes in the lavatory. “He bought the plane ticket with his wife’s name and brought the identity card, the PCR test result, and the vaccination card with his wife’s name. All documents are under his wife’s name,” Ternate police chief Aditya Laksimada said after arresting the man upon landing. He was only identified by his initials. Police took him for a COVID-19 test, which came back OMA INFLUENCERS. South Korean YouTuber Park Makrye, 74, discusses her country’s rapidly changing attitude positive. Coronavirus is surging in parts of Asia. Restrictions on nonessential towards gender and age during an interview on May 20, 2021 in Seoul, South Korea. Park’s YouTube channel, “Korea travel, including a mandatory negative coronavirus test, and public gatherings, Grandma,” has more than 1.32 million subscribers from around the world. The freshest faces among South Korean were toughened during the Eid al-Adha holiday last month. influencers are no longer the usual, 20-something celebrities. Instead, entertainment and social media are focusing on a new generation: the elder generation. (AP Photo) Brisbane picked to host 2032 Olympics without a rival bid TOKYO (AP) — Brisbane has been picked to host the 2032 Olympics, the inevitable winner of a one-city race steered by the International Olympic Older women are the fresh faces Committee (IOC) to avoid rival bids. The games will go back to Australia 32 years after the popular 2000 Sydney Olympics. Melbourne hosted in 1956. “We of South Korean influencers know what it takes to deliver a successful games in Australia,” Prime Minister By Juwon Park international guests to live as temporary Scott Morrison told IOC voters in an 11-minute live video link from his office. The Associated Press sons-in-law with Korean grandmothers. The When the award was later confirmed, winning the vote 72-5, Morrison raised color of the series came from the EOUL, South Korea — The freshest both arms in the air and gave two thumbs up. The victory led to a fireworks grandmothers’ attempts to communicate with faces among South Korean influencers display in Brisbane that was broadcast to IOC members in their five-star hotel their foreign in-laws and share homemade are no longer the usual, 20-something in Tokyo. Brisbane follows 2028 host Los Angeles in getting 11 years to prepare S meals and decades-old ginseng alcohol. celebrities. Instead, entertainment and social Park Makrye, a popular South Korean for hosting the games. Paris will host in 2024. The 2032 deal looked done months media are focusing on a new generation: the YouTuber, said the country’s attitude before the formal decision at the IOC meeting, which was held ahead of the elder generation. regarding gender and age has been rapidly opening ceremony of the Tokyo Games. The IOC gave Brisbane exclusive Older women were once invisible in South changing. negotiating rights in February. That decision left Olympic officials in Qatar, Korean entertainment as the industry stuck to Hungary, and Germany looking blindsided with their own stalled bidding plans. rigidly conservative traditional female roles “Back in the days, people thought women Thailand sends COVID-19 patients to hometowns by train and cast them only as devoted mothers. were supposed to be only housewives cooking at home, but that’s once upon a time. People BANGKOK (AP) — Authorities in Thailand late last month began But older women are front and center in recent advertising and entertainment series. must adapt to the current era,” she said. transporting some people who tested positive for the coronavirus from Bangkok Park, 74, is one of the leading lights in the to their hometowns for isolation and treatment to alleviate the burden on the A pioneer in the trend is Oscar winner Youn Yuh-jung, the 74-year-old Minari actor who South Korean frenzy. Her YouTube channel, capital’s overwhelmed medical system. A train carrying more than 100 patients promotes Oriental Brewery beer and the Zig “Korea Grandma,” has more than 1.32 million and medical workers in full protective gear left the city for the northeast. It will Zag shopping app in two recent ad campaigns. subscribers. In her videos, Park throws drop patients off in seven provinces, where they will be met by health officers The beer video highlights the novelty of its expletives while reviewing a Korean drama and taken to hospitals. Medical authorities in Bangkok said all ICU beds for spokesperson, who says: “For someone like me and screams her lungs out while paragliding COVID-19 patients at public hospitals were full and that some of the sick were to be on a beer ad, the world has gotten so much for the first time. being treated in emergency rooms. Officials said they have asked army medics to better.” With a Cass beer in her hand, Youn Park’s success has paved the way for others. help out at civilian hospitals. “These are patients from Bangkok who haven’t says she makes friends by being her authentic Jang Myung-sook gives out fashion and received treatment in hospitals. We want to bring them to doctors in their self and alludes to the beer helping people to lifestyles tips on her channel “Milanonna,” a hometowns. And the travelling process is controlled all through the journey,” dissipate their social awkwardness. nonagenarian known as Grandma “Gganzi” said Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, South Korean producer Kim Sehee said raps and shares personal stories about living who was on hand to watch the operation. He said busses, vans, and even aircraft Youn’s Oscar win earlier this year inspired his through the Japanese colonization, and a might be deployed to send people back to less badly affected provinces. Thailand entertainment series, “Wassup K-Grandma.” 76-year-old YouTuber flaunts her “single life” initially kept coronavirus cases in check but outbreaks have flared in recent He said South Korean young people have a on “G-gourmet.” months. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha’s government is facing harsh new interest in their elders, birthing a new “I would like to tell grandmothers to try criticism over its handling of a delta variant-fuelled surge and slow vaccination word, “harmaenial” — a portmanteau of the everything they want to do and not be program amid reports of people dying in the streets or in their homes while South Korean word “harmoni,” or grand- concerned with their age,” Park told The waiting for treatment. mother, and the English word “millennial.” Associated Press. Veteran politician becomes Nepal PM for fifth time The series, broadcast in May, was one of the “For young people ... You’ll be OK as long as KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — A veteran politician was appointed Nepal’s first Korean shows to feature grandmothers as you are healthy,” she said. “Please fight on and prime minister for the fifth time last month, a day after the Supreme Court main characters, according to Kim. It brought best of luck.” reinstated the House of Representatives and upheld his claim to be the new leader. President Bidhya Devi Bhandari’s office said Sher Bahadur Deuba, who leads the Nepali Congress party, was appointed the new prime minister. Deuba PORTLAND’S Asian Currency will lead the Himalayan nation as it struggles with political divisions and the LEADER IN Exchange Rates coronavirus. NATURAL BURIAL & Units per U.S. dollar as of 7/30
China tightens control over cybersecurity in data crackdown AQUA CREMATION Bangladesh Taka····84.25 BEIJING (AP) — Tech experts in China who find a weakness in computer Cambodian Riel ····4066.2 security would be required to tell the government and couldn’t sell that China Renminbi ····6.4609 Fijian Dollar ······2.0691 knowledge under rules further tightening the Communist Party’s control over Hong Kong Dollar · · · 7.772 information. The rules would ban private sector experts who find “zero day,” or Tu Phan Indian Rupee······74.337 previously unknown security weaknesses, and sell the information to police, spy Branch Manager, NMLS #7916 Indonesian Rupiah · · · 14424 Iranian Rial ······42025 agencies, or companies. Such vulnerabilities have been a feature of major Call about hacking attacks including one in July blamed on a Russia-linked group that refinances& purchases Japanese Yen ·····109.73 Laos New Kip ·····9520.9 infected thousands of companies in at least 17 countries. Beijing is increasingly Offering FHA/VA/Conventional Mortgages Malaysian Ringgit · · · 4.218 sensitive about control over information about its people and the economy. Please call us for (503) 780-6872 Nepal Rupee ······119.62 Companies are barred from storing data about Chinese customers outside
EW DELHI — As coronavirus cases ravaged India this spring, NAnil Sharma visited his 24-year- old son Saurav at a private hospital in northwest New Delhi every day for more than two months. In May, as India’s new COVID-19 cases broke global records to reach 400,000 a day, Saurav was put on a ventilator. The sight of the tube running into Saurav’s throat is seared in Sharma’s mind. “I had to stay strong when I was with ONLINE OBSTACLES. Sri Lankan students attend their online classes from a treehouse (top photo) on a him, but immediately after, I would break down as soon as I left the room,” he said. mountain in a reserve forest in Lunugala, Sri Lanka, and while sitting on tree branches (bottom photo) in the vil- CRIPPLING DEBT. Anil Sharma shows a photo- lage of Bibila, Sri Lanka. Climbing rocks and sitting on tree tops is not part of their curriculum, but children in vil- Saurav is home now, still weak and graph of his son Saurav, who was being treated for lages surrounding the capital city are doing just that to be able to catch mobile signals to access online classes. recovering. But the family’s joy is COVID-19 at a private hospital in New Delhi, India, on The digital divide fuelled by uneven internet access and high data cost has forced many students out of the for- tempered by a mountain of debt that piled July 1, 2021. Life is tentatively returning to normal in mal education system in Sri Lanka. (AP Photos/Eranga Jayawardena) up while he was sick. India as coronavirus cases fall. But millions are em- Life has been tentatively returning to broiled in a nightmare of huge piles of medical bills. In Sri Lanka, a dangerous normal in India as new coronavirus cases Most Indians don’t have health insurance and costs have fallen. But millions are embroiled in for COVID-19 treatment have them drowning in debt. a nightmare of huge piles of medical bills. “I was a proud father — and now I have become a climb for online school Most Indians don’t have health insurance beggar,” says Sharma. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup) By Eranga Jayawardena and costs for COVID-19 treatment have access in India was a problem. The Associated Press them drowning in debt. Indians pay about 63% of their medical Sharma exhausted his savings on pay- expenses out-of-pocket. That’s typical of OHITIYAWA, Sri Lanka — ing for an ambulance, tests, medicine, and many poor countries with inadequate Getting online school lessons for an ICU bed. Then he took out bank loans. government services. Data on global Bresidents of a remote Sri Lankan As the costs mounted, he borrowed from personal medical costs from the pandemic village requires a trek through dense friends and relatives. Then, he turned to are hard to come by, but in India and many bushes sometimes visited by leopards and strangers, pleading online for help on other countries treatment for COVID is a elephants. Ketto, an Indian crowdfunding website. huge added burden at a time when The teachers and about 45 Overall, Sharma says he has paid more hundreds of millions of jobs have vanished. schoolchildren in Bohitiwaya then climb than $50,000 in medical bills. In India, many jobs returned as cities more than 2 miles to the top of a rock to The crowdfunding provided $28,000, but opened up after a severe lockdown in find an internet signal. another $26,000 is borrowed money he March 2020, but economists worry about Information technology teacher Nimali needs to repay, a kind of debt he has never the loss of some 12 million salaried Anuruddhika uses the signal to upload about 10 miles away. faced before. positions. Sharma’s job as a marketing lessons for her students who haven’t been In the village of Lunugala, about 37 “He was struggling for his life and we professional was one of them. able to go to school because of the miles away, adults escort schoolchildren to were struggling to provide him an When he asked his son’s friends to set up COVID-19 pandemic. The students who a mountaintop treehouse in a forest opportunity to survive,” he said, his voice the campaign on Ketto to raise funds, also live in the village make the same reserve. It’s about 30 feet high and has thick with emotion. “I was a proud father Sharma hadn’t seen a paycheck in 18 climb to download online lessons sent to internet access. They take turns uploading — and now I have become a beggar.” months. Between April and June this year, them by their teachers. their homework and downloading lesson The pandemic has devastated India’s 40% of the 4,500 COVID-19 campaigns on Not all have mobile devices or laptops, plans. economy, bringing financial calamity to the site were for hospitalization costs, the with four or five children sharing one Schools in Sri Lanka have been closed millions at the mercy of its chronically company said. device. for the most part since March 2020. underfunded and fragmented healthcare The pandemic has driven 32 million Their parents, most of whom are Authorities say they make every effort system. Experts say such costs are bound Indians out of the middle class, defined as farmers, often accompany their children. to provide all children access to education, to hinder an economic recovery. those earning $10 to $20 a day, according H.M. Pathmini Kumari, who accompanies but Joseph Stalin, who heads the Ceylon “What we have is a patchwork quilt of to a Pew Research Center study published his sixth-grade son, said the children climb Teachers’ Union, says at most 40% of the incomplete public insurance and a poor in March. It estimated the crisis has the rock twice a day and their safety is a country’s 4.3 million students can public health system. The pandemic has increased the number of India’s poor — big concern for parents. participate in online classes. The majority shown just how creaky and unsustainable those with incomes of $2 or less a day — by The village in the central-eastern part of lack access to devices or connectivity. these two things are,” said Vivek Dehejia, 75 million. the island country lacks basic amenities, Sri Lanka’s government has also begun an economist who has studied public policy “If you’re looking at what pushes people and its children had been studying in a a campaign to vaccinate all teachers with a in India. into debt or poverty, the top two sources government school, now closed, that is view to reopening schools soon. Even before the pandemic, healthcare Continued on page 5
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AP Photo/Jeff Roberson about $5,000 was paid, she pawned the family’s gold TABOO TATTOOS. A tattoo on the arm of Yan Peng of China, top photo, a men’s jewelry to moneylenders. 3-on-3 basketball player, is seen during the 2020 Summer Olympics on July 25, 2021 When that wasn’t enough, she asked her friends, in Tokyo, Japan. In the bottom photo, water droplets fall down the back of a swimmer relatives, and her sister’s colleagues for help. She and across an Olympics rings tattoo during the Tokyo Olympics. still owes some $1,000. A health insurance scheme launched by Prime Taboo in Tokyo, tattoos Minister Narendra Modi in 2018 was intended to cover around 500 million of India’s 1.3 billion people COVID COSTS. Diana Khumanthem, 30, and her three-year- on display at Olympics and was a major step toward easing medical costs. old nephew Hridhaan look at photographs on the mobile phone of Hridhaan’s mother Ranjita, who died of COVID-19 at home in TOKYO (AP) — Taboo in much of Tokyo, tattoos are everywhere at But it doesn’t cover the primary care and outpatient Imphal, in Manipur, India, on June 28, 2021. Diana lost both her the Olympics. costs that comprise most out-of-pocket expenses. So mother and sister to the virus in May. A public hospital treated Di- There’s the lion on British swimmer Adam Peaty’s shoulder. An it hasn’t “effectively improved access to care and ana’s mother, but her sister Ranjita was admitted to a private inspirational message on the arm of Chinese 3-on-3 basketball financial risk protection,” said a working paper by hospital that cost $1,300 per day. Ranjita was the family’s only player Yan Peng. A likeness of Christ the Redeemer on the calf of researchers at Duke University. earner after Diana left her nursing job last year to return home dur- Spanish boxer Gabriel Escobar Mascunano. The program also has been hobbled by disparities ing the first wave of the pandemic. Diana is now hunting for work And the Olympic in how various states implemented it, said Shawin while looking after her father and her sister’s three-year-old son. rings. So many Olympic Vitsupakorn, one of the paper’s authors. (AP Photo/Yirmiyan Arthur, File) rings. Another paper, by the Duke Global Health her sister’s three-year-old son. French swimmer Institute and the Public Health Foundation of India, At her home in Imphal, Khumanthem grieved for Fantine Lasaffre has found costs of ICU hospitalization for COVID-19 are her mother by remembering her favorite food — them on her left equivalent to nearly 16 months of work for a typical chagem pomba, a type of gruel made with vegetables, forearm, and American Indian day laborer or seven to 10 months for salaried rice, and soybeans. Every few minutes, she looked shooter Kayle Browning or self-employed workers. toward the front gate. on her right wrist. Meager funding of healthcare, at just 1.6% of “This is usually the time Ranjita would return They’re on Moroccan India’s GDP, is less, proportionately, than what Laos home from work,” she said. “I still keep thinking she boxer Abdelhaq Nadir’s or Ethiopia spends. At the outbreak’s peak in May, could walk through the gate any moment now.” AP Photo/Charlie Riedel left bicep, and on the hospitals everywhere were overrun, but public Back in New Delhi, Sharma sighed in relief as an ankle of Canadian gymnast Shallon Olsen. facilities lacked the resources to handle the floods of ambulance brought his son home from the hospital Italian gymnast Vanessa Ferrari has them, too, on the back of her patients coming in. late last month. Saurav needs physiotherapy to build neck — along with ink commemorating previous trips to the Beijing, “The result is a suffering public health system, up his weakened muscles, a daily nurse, and a long London, and Rio de Janiero Games. where the provision of care is often poor, prompting list of medications. It may be weeks before he will be Athletes won’t do much mingling with locals at these many to flock to private hospitals,” said Dehejia. able to stand on his own, and months before the pandemic-restricted Olympics. If they did, they might not find their A public hospital treated Khumanthem’s mother, ambitious lawyer who graduated among the top of body art as welcome. Tattoos remain stigmatized in Japan, where but her sister Ranjita was admitted to a private one his class will be able to go to court again. those with them are commonly banned from beaches, gyms, pools, that cost $1,300 per day. The costs will continue. and elsewhere around Japan. Ranjita was the family’s only earner after “Our first priority was to save him,” Sharma said. No such restrictions in the Olympic bubble, though. In the pool, on Khumanthem left her nursing job last year to return “Now we will need to figure out the rest.” the beach, at the range — the athletes are redefining what it means home during the first wave of the virus. She’s now Associated Press journalist Yirmiyan to have the mark of a champion. hunting for work while looking after her father and Arthur contributed from Imphal. Curbside Pickup
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Member Associated Press/Newsfinder MY TURN Asian American Journalists Association Better Business Bureau n Wayne Chan Pacific Northwest Minority Publishers (PNMP) Philippine American Chamber of Commerce of Oregon But why would an ostrich Correspondence: The Asian Reporter welcomes reader response and participation. cough up a fur ball? Please send all correspondence to: Mail: 922 N Killingsworth Street, Suite 2D Many years ago, writer and columnist Wayne Chan came upon understand that word, the whole conversation Portland, OR 97217-2220 a young man who pens a number of comic strips, a good portion starts to snowball. Let me provide an example. Phone: (503) 283-4440 ** Fax: (503) 283-4445 of them drawn from the perspective of an Asian American. When My brother-in-law and his family from Taiwan News Department e-mail: [email protected] Wayne saw the cartoonist’s works, he thought they were truly ter- are staying with us at our home. Their daughter, my rific. 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Killingsworth St., Portland, OR 97217-2220 A potential issue might pop up, though, when a She either bought a new scooter to get around conversation veers into a topic that I’m not well Taipei … or she may have invented a new jetpack to The Asian Reporter welcomes reader response and versed, or someone uses a word I’m unfamiliar with go from place to place. participation. If you have a comment on a story that is at the crux of the discussion. If you don’t I’ll report back later. we have printed, or have an Asian-related personal or community focus idea, please contact us. Opinions expressed in this newspaper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of this publication. Please include a contact name, address, and phone number on all correspondence. Thank you. Wondering when our next issue is published? Sign up for e-alerts at
n the beginning, Genshu Price recycled for his own Isake — his father said it would be a good way to save money for his college tuition. But then, he came up with grander idea: Why not recycle thousands of bottles and cans to help other students in Hawai‘i reach their college dream. “That way, it would be able to help a lot more local families, help a lot more people throughout the generations,” Price said. The 13-year-old from Oahu launched Bottles4College three years ago. The goal is to collect Bottles4College. In these May 2021 images provided by Maria Price, Genshu Price stands on the back of a truck (left photo) after loading it with recyclable cans and bottles from and recycle 2 to 4 million cans Kualoa Ranch in Hawai‘i for his fundraiser, Bottles4College. In the right photo, Genshu Price sorts recyclables at his home in Hawai‘i. (Bottles4College Price via AP) and bottles annually to fund pandemic has hit everyone so baseball games, and parks, “just based on four pillars: education, get to the place where we want to college tuition for up to two hard, especially the kids,” he asking people if they’re done with environment, community, and be, but it’s definitely exciting. students. Price said his project said. At the same time, they their drinks,” to collect their lifestyle. “We’re helping the Every can counts, it’s one can or “gained traction” during the would protect the environment bottles and cans, which he sorted environment by recycling,” he bottle at a time,” he said. coronavirus pandemic. and keep their island clean. with his parents’ help. said. “We’re helping education by Caring about others, he said, is “People saw this as a way to His mother, Maria Price, Since then, he has collected providing scholarship funds for even more important during give an opportunity back to local recalled how he began going more than 100,000 bottles and Hawai‘i kids and inspiring them challenging times. families, especially since the around to beaches, Little League cans and has received support to want to get a good education. “In school they teach you how from businesses and schools, set- And then you’re bringing to treat other people how you ting up drop-off depots at places communities together.” want to be treated,” he said. “And like Mililani Uka Elementary It’s a lifestyle, he said, because especially at a time like during School, the Kualoa Ranch nature the other pillars become a part of the pandemic, that phrase really reserve, and S.W. King Interme- your life. comes into play.” “One Good Thing” is a series that diate School, which he attends. The soon-to-be eighth grader is highlights individuals whose actions “Hawai‘i already has very high also an aspiring filmmaker; he provide glimmers of joy in hard times — living costs. COVID made that created a documentary highlight- stories of people who find a way to make even harder,” he said. “I want to ing his work. He also posts videos a difference, no matter how small. give a way for students who may on YouTube, including tips on Associated Press religion coverage not ... have been able to go to how to sort cans and bottles and receives support from the Lilly Endowment college by themselves.” encouraging others to recycle. through The Conversation U.S. The AP is Bottles4College, he said, is “We still have a little bit to go to solely responsible for this content. Get the care you need Make sure your children and teens are healthy before school starts
The past year has been hard on all of us, as we put on masks and spent more time Call your provider to make alone. But now it’s time to get the care an appointment. Or contact you and your family need. This summer CareOregon Customer Service is a great time to get healthy. If your child August is National Immunization if you have questions. or teen hasn’t been seen by their primary care provider (PCP) because of the COVID Awareness Month Stay on top of your child’s health Reach us 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. pandemic, now is a great time to schedule Monday through Friday at a visit. Providers are ready to see them 503-416-4100, 800-224-4840 for physical, dental and mental health Call your adolescent’s provider and get needs, and are taking precautions to keep the care they need to stay healthy: or TTY 711. everyone safe. Call your child’s clinic to ⊲ Schedule their annual checkup for a make an appointment. All free to Health complete physical exam. Connect to Care is back out in the Share/CareOregon members. ⊲ Get the vaccines adolescents need community. Look for us at health to help them fight serious illnesses. and resource fairs this summer! These include meningococcal, Tdap Visit us at the link below for and HPV. more information. ⊲ The COVID vaccine is now approved to children ages 12 and older. The CDC has confirmed it’s safe for the COVID vaccine to be given at the same time as other routine vaccines. ⊲ Make sure kids are healthy before they start school and fall sports. ⊲ Get the mental health services your teen needs, including counseling and behavioral therapy. ⊲ Contact their dentist to maintain good oral health. They should visit the careoregon.org/connect-to-care dentist at least once a year. connect to care Page 8 n THE ASIAN REPORTER U.S.A. August 2, 2021 Some seek more boxes to check for “other” Pacific Islanders By Jennifer Sinco Kelleher OUTSIDE THE BOX. Dr. Kapono Chong- The Associated Press Hanssen administers a COVID-19 vaccine on July 10, 2020 in Kekaha, Hawai‘i. Chong-Hanssen supports a ONOLULU — A few months into resolution introduced by a member of the Honolulu the pandemic, data showed City Council urging Hawai‘i government agencies to HPacific Islanders suffered the go beyond minimum federal standards and get more highest infection rates in Hawai‘i. specific when collecting racial data in one of the most But what early numbers didn’t publicly racially diverse states in the nation. Chong-Hanssen show was which Pacific Islanders in the said the pandemic underscores the need for data that doesn’t lump together Pacific Islanders. (Photo cour- diverse identification category — which tesy of Bryden Kaauwai via AP) includes people with ethnic roots in Samoa, Micronesia, and other islands but Black, American Indian or Alaska Native, excludes Native Hawaiians — were Filipino, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, affected the most. Vietnamese, and “other Asian.” In August 2020, when Hawai‘i recorded Even though the resolution isn’t its greatest number of cases, people who binding, Kia‘aina said that the agencies identify as Pacific Islander represented she has contacted so far are supportive. 24% of all COVID-19 cases but accounted She said she plans to send the resolution to for just 4% of the state’s population, city and state agencies, asking them to according to a report by the state comply voluntarily. Department of Health with academic and “We’re doing this not only to get the data community groups. to determine funding priorities, it’s also to The health equity report, published in promulgate policies to address the March of this year, showed that the two underlying disparities for whatever single largest groups represented among considered overrepresented in colleges account for about 20% of the population. reason,” she said, “whether it be housing, Pacific Islander COVID-19 cases were when counted as Asian, Esther Kia‘aina “We’re geographically unique and we whether it be education, whether it be Samoan at 29% and Chuukese at 24%. worked at the federal level to separate are culturally, racially, ethnically very health.” Before the detailed data was readily and Native Hawaiian data from Asian data. unique in comparison to the rest of the On the Big Island, Dr. Wilfred Alik, who widely available, Dr. Kapono Since then, however, all other Pacific United States,” said Chong-Hanssen, is from the Republic of the Marshall Chong-Hanssen on Kauai printed lists of Islanders have remained in one category. medical director of the Kauai Community Islands and speaks Marshallese, said he people who checked the Pacific Islander Now a member of the Honolulu City Health Center and a board member of the made it a point to collect specific ethnicity box and looked at last names in an attempt Council, Kia‘aina introduced a resolution Association of Native Hawaiian data on his own when talking with a to figure out specific racial backgrounds. adopted in June urging Hawai‘i Physicians. “So the federal standards don’t Pacific Islander patient who tested The feat was possible on a small island, government agencies to go beyond really serve our public health ... and other positive. he recalled, but it would have been quicker minimum federal standards and get more services.” While groups organized collectively as and easier to target communities with specific when collecting racial data in one Disaggregated data — data that is Asian and Pacific Islander can bring educational outreach in the languages of the most racially diverse states in the broken down into smaller groupings — is strength in numbers to smaller they speak with more specific state data, nation. also helpful now in the effort to urge people communities, getting specific data is which provides information about Native Of Hawai‘i’s 1.5 million residents, 38% to get vaccinated, he said. helpful for contact tracing especially with Hawaiians but lumps together all other are Asian — mostly Japanese and Filipino The resolution provides separate language skills and cultural sensitivity, Pacific Islanders. — 26% are white, 2% are Black, and many categories for Samoan, Micronesian, said Alik, who works for Kaiser In the 1990s, prompted by concerns that people are multiple ethnicities, according Tongan, Chamorro, and “other Pacific Permanente. Native Hawaiian students were to U.S. census figures. Native Hawaiians Islander.” Categories also include white, Continued on page 10
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Coalition members say are inconsistent and provide incomplete the report sets the stage for bolstering the efficacy of methods for addressing bias-motivated current law and addresses racial disparities in how the violence, according to a new report by laws are enforced. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File) advocates for better protections. approach,” said SPLC president and CEO The report, first shared with The Margaret Huang. Associated Press ahead of the release in “Those laws that are trying to include late July, is a comprehensive national law enforcement in the category of hate review of hate crime laws that shows gaps crimes are actually taking away from the and variances in the laws. Due to the definition of hate crimes and the focus on complexity of hate violence, certain how we prevent these things,” she said. statutes meant to protect racial minorities The nation’s earliest protections against and marginalized groups are less effective, hate-motivated violence were passed after as a consequence of bias in the criminal the Civil War, amid a rise in white justice system, the report says. The FBI said the U.S. reached a 10-year Act as part of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes supremacist violence against formerly The existing laws can even discourage high in reported hate crimes in 2019. Act. Named for Khalid Jabara and enslaved Africans. Modernization of hate crime victims from coming forward, Earlier this year, the SPLC said the Heather Heyer, whose hate-motivated federal hate crime legislation happened in advocates say in the report, which also number of active hate groups in the U.S. killings were prosecuted as hate crimes 1968, and has since expanded to 46 states, cites widespread flaws in the collection declined as far-right extremists migrated but not counted in hate statistics, the D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin further to online networks that are harder and reporting of data. legislation aims to improve hate crime Islands. Arkansas, South Carolina, and to track. “We really think this is the first report to data collection by law enforcement. Wyoming are the only states without hate The majority of all U.S. hate crimes are bring together a state-by-state analysis The report on hate crime laws also crime statutes. committed by white people, according to along so many dimensions … with a focus highlights a growing politicization of such In the report, advocates say current hate available data, and the majority of all hate on racial justice and criminal justice legislation. Following the rise of the Black crime laws can be improved by shifting the crimes are motivated by racial or ethnic reform,” said Naomi Goldberg, LGBTQ Lives Matter movement and street con- focus away from strictly criminal punish- bias. But data also show that hate crimes program director for the Movement frontations between protesters and police ment for violation of the statutes to reported by state law enforcement to the Advancement Project, which authored the in the last several years, conservative allowing for remedies in civil court. They FBI disproportionately list Black report in partnership with more than 15 lawmakers in a handful of states have also call for investment in the social safety Americans as the perpetrators. national civil-rights groups. either changed or attempted to change net to help reduce poverty and vulnera- According to the report, in at least 13 The coalition of civil rights organi- hate crime laws by adding police officers as bility caused by systemic racism. states, law enforcement-recorded hate zations includes Asian Americans a protected category. Morrison is a member of AP’s crimes listed Black offenders at a rate Advancing Justice - AAJC, the National “I think that’s a terrible, terrible Race and Ethnicity team. roughly 1.6 to 3.6 times greater than the Center for Transgender Equality, and the size of the state’s Black population. Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). “These repeated disparities … show that Goldberg described it as an unprecedented — despite the fact that people of color are collaboration in the advocacy space. far more likely to be the victims of hate The report includes a foreword by Judy violence — the instances of hate violence Shepard, president of the Matthew that are actually documented by police … Shepard Foundation, named for her son are disproportionately those alleged to whose murder in 1998 led to LGBTQ have been committed by Black people,” the protection in the federal legislation. report states. “Although we know that hate crime laws As racist attacks on Asian Americans are important and have been successful in and Asian immigrants gained widespread holding offenders accountable, we also attention in recent months, so did a false know that they can and should be more perception that Black Americans were the impactful,” Shepard wrote in the foreword. main culprits of such attacks. The report’s release comes after a “We don’t have a true and accurate more-than-yearlong focus on COVID-era understanding of what anti-Asian hate hate violence directed at Asian Americans during the pandemic has looked like,” said and Asian immigrants, and ahead of the Marita Etcubañez, senior director for 20th anniversary of the September 11 strategic initiatives at Asian Americans terror attacks, which saw an uptick in Advancing Justice - AAJC in Washington anti-Muslim and anti-Sikh attacks. D.C. On July 27, a man accused of killing “But we do know that these commonly eight people, mostly women of Asian discussed perceptions that the per- descent, at Atlanta-area massage petrators of anti-Asian hate are mainly businesses this past May pleaded guilty to Black or African American are not murder in four of the killings. The man accurate,” she said. received a sentence of life imprisonment. A Etcubañez added that a lack of accurate prosecutor on the case has not linked a hate crime statistics is what inspired hate motivation to the killings. passage of the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Department of Consumer & Business Services Occupational Safety and Health Division Oregon OSHA: Preventing heat illness As temperatures rise to potentially dangerous levels this summer, Oregon OSHA expects employers to comply with emergency requirements – adopted July 8 – to protect their workers from the hazards of high and extreme heat. Under Oregon OSHA’s temporary heat illness prevention rule, employers must provide expanded access to shade and cool water; regular cool-down breaks; training; communication; and emergency planning and other measures. The following fact sheet summarizes the rule’s key requirements: https://osha.oregon.gov/OSHAPubs/factsheets/fs85.pdf. Oregon OSHA’s consultants are available to give free and confidential help – involving no citations or penalties – to comply with the rule: 1-800-922-2689. MERCADO NOCTURNO DE BEAVERTON Contact Oregon OSHA at1-800-922-2689 for more information, or find us on the web. FRI AUG 13 | SAT AUG 14 | 4-10 PM We offer free interpretation services. COVID Safety Guidelines Followed | New Location dcbs.oregon.gov Medidas de seguridad para COVID | Nueva ubicación
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(AP Photo/ quit during quarantine. Morry Gash) T It all had become too much. The removed from a third surgery to repair a lingering pain from a broken foot. The torn ACL in her knee, had the best floor deaths of two family members from score of the contenders during qualifying. COVID-19. Her father’s slow recovery Yet she bounded out of bounds with both from an accident that left him paralyzed. feet at the end of her first tumbling pass. The urge eventually passed. It always And her right foot stepped off the white does. Still, less than two months ago the mat and onto the surrounding blue carpet. 18-year-old gymnast hobbled around the Needing a 13.802 to win, Andrade podium at the U.S. championships, getting received a 13.666 instead. Not that she by more on grit than anything else. particularly cared. She wasn’t even sure Tokyo seemed far away. The top of the she would make it to Tokyo until she won Olympic podium, even further. the all-around at the Pan American Then suddenly, there she was last Championships just months ago. She was Thursday night as a tinny version of “The in tears as she watched her country’s flag Star-Spangled Banner” echoed across raised during an Olympic gymnastics Ariake Gymnastics Centre. Gold medal ceremony for the first time. around her neck. A watch party back home aggression. did. Or at least, she tried. “This medal represents all Brazil,” she among the Hmong-American community Her total of 57.433 points was just Lee admitted she was getting “in her said. The gold, however, remains in in her native Minnesota raging. A victory enough to top Andrade, who earned the head” a little bit while prepping for her bar possession of the Americans. Lee’s victory she never envisioned not yet sinking in. first gymnastics all-around medal by a routine, the one that’s currently the marked the fifth straight by a U.S. woman, “It’s crazy,” Lee said after winning the Latin American athlete but missed out on hardest in the world. She didn’t exactly with the past three Olympic champions all Olympic all-around title following a tight gold when she stepped out of bounds twice look nervous. The 15.300 the judges being women of color. duel with Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade. “It during her floor routine. rewarded her for a series of intricate Biles and 2012 gold medallist Gabby doesn’t seem like real life.” Russian gymnast Angelina Melnikova connections and releases tied Andrade’s Douglas are Black. Lee’s parents are Even though the pain in Lee’s foot eased added bronze to the gold she won in the near-perfect Cheng vault for the highest Hmong, an ethnic group who have — funny how it seemed to get better the team final. American Jade Carey, who score of the night. historically lived in the mountains of more she trained — she arrived in Japan joined the competition after Biles pulled Yet it wasn’t Lee’s brilliance that made Southeast Asia. Lee’s parents emigrated figuring her best shot was at a silver out, finished eighth. the difference, but her guts. She nearly from Laos to Minnesota, which has the medal. Sure, she’d beaten good friend and Biles’ decision to sit out led to the jarring came off the balance beam while executing largest concentration of Hmong in the U.S. reigning Olympic champion Simone Biles sight of the gymnast considered the a wolf turn — basically a seated spin — A large group of friends and family during the final day of the U.S. Olympic greatest of all time cheering on Lee and the needed to suction cup her toes to the 4” slab gathered in Minneapolis to watch her Trials in June, but that was an anomaly, rest of the 24-woman field from the stands of wood to stay on. Her score of 13.833 make history. She hopes the image of a right? with the gold that’s been hers for so long moved her in front of Andrade heading into Hmong standing in front of the world and Then Biles opted out of the all-around now in play for everyone else. the floor exercise. on top of her sport resonates in a competition to focus on her mental health Still, Lee did her best to not think about Going first, Lee opted for a routine with community she sometimes feels can be too following an eight-year run atop the sport. the stakes. She FaceTimed with her father three tumbling passes instead of four, restrictive. Everything was on the table. Gold John — who was paralyzed from the chest hoping better execution would override “I want people to know that you can included. Lee took it with a brilliant set on down during a freak accident in Minnesota any potential tenths she surrendered by reach your dreams and you can just do uneven bars, a nervy performance on just days before the 2019 national not doing a fourth pass. Her 13.700 was what you want to do,” she said. “Because beam, and a floor exercise that made up for championships — before the meet, just steady, but it left an opening for Andrade. you never know what’s going to happen in in execution what it might have lacked in like always. He told her to relax. So she The 21-year-old Brazilian, two years the end.” Give COVID-19COVID-19 vaccines vaccines offer offer hope. hope. blood. YouYou can can get geta free a freevaccine vaccine that that protects you protects you against COVID-19. To schedule a blood against COVID-19. donation call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE or If you are 65 or older: visit HelpSaveALife.org. Call 503-988-8939 to get help scheduling an appointment at a vaccination clinic. 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Visit multco.us/covid19 for the latest updates August 2, 2021 OLYMPICS THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 13 A first-ever gold — and a lesson — in Olympic skateboarding By John Leicester and Miina Yamada THRILLS & SPILLS. Yuto Horigome of Japan The Associated Press performs a trick during a street skateboarding practice session at the 2020 Summer Olympics on July 24, OKYO — Had the first-ever 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) Olympic skateboarding champion Olympic debut as a win for skaters Tridden his board out of the venue everywhere. where he made history at the Tokyo “Hopefully, yes, after this people will be Games, he quickly would have come more accepting to skateboarding in cities face-to-face with clear evidence that his like Tokyo,” Huston said. “We are not out sport still has a way to go to winning there trying to vandalize or trespass, or hearts and minds. the way a lot of people see it. We are just Just a quick skate from the Ariake out there doing our jobs, to be honest, and Urban Sports Park, next to a school, a sign having an awesome time.” reads: “No skateboarding.” While Huston melted down in the heat, Good luck telling Yuto Horigome to Horigome was ice cool, executing the move on. The Tokyo native now has a toughest tricks. His dad skated, and Hori- weighty argument that he should be left gome himself started as a seven-year-old, alone: a shiny gold Olympic medal won in riding in a park just a 30-minute drive the city where he learned to skate as a kid from the future Olympic venue. The 22-year-old had been among the and honed his derring-do skills on its them,” he predicted. Several skaters wore headphones as medal favorites after he beat Huston at the teeming streets where skateboarders And perhaps for the Olympic Games, they competed — unthinkable in most world championships in Rome in June. sometimes aren’t welcome. too. sports. Eaton listened to rapper Dusty On his highest scoring stunt, Horigome “Skateboarding is still a minor sport,” The venerable sporting extravaganza Locane’s aptly named “Rollin n Controllin” flipped the board from under him on Horigome said. “I want to show how had never seen an event quite as, well, on his first run. takeoff and slid it down a jagged rail on its skateboarding is fun.” chill as this, with laid-back camaraderie “It got me right in the groove,” he said. nose, a trick called a nollie 270 noseslide. Mission accomplished. and an emphasis on fun among compe- But never finding his groove was That earned a high-scoring 9.5. Skating’s Olympic debut delivered titors steeped in the “life is a blast” skating’s standout star, Nyjah Huston of Horigome was the only skater in the final exactly what the games’ organizers had philosophy of their counter-culture the U.S. He fell repeatedly while trying to to score nothing but nines in all of his hoped for: a high-adrenaline show of pursuit born in freewheeling California. land tricks and placed seventh in the tricks that counted. thrills and lots of spills from athletes Putting competition aside, skaters eight-man final. In front of her television, in a residence plugged into younger audiences. whooped and applauded when others The Californian was among those who that overlooks the venue, eight-year-old U.S. skater Jagger Eaton, who won landed tough tricks — and hoped that struggled with furnace-like conditions in Ayane Nakamura yelped as Horigome bronze, immediately celebrated by other more buttoned-down sports were the skatepark of rails, stairs, ledges, and sealed gold with a final trick. whipping his phone out of his pocket and taking notice. other urban furniture that gives the street A skateboarder with dreams of broadcasting live on Instagram. “The goal is to progress each sport to the event its name. becoming an Olympian herself one day, And Kelvin Hoefler, who used to sleep maximum and we can do that without Blazing sun softened rubber joints on Ayane said she sometimes gets told off for with his board when he first fell in love having to bash or cheat,” Puerto Rican the boards’ wheel axles, making them zipping around on her board with its with skating as a young boy, was so giddy skater Manny Santiago said. “The other harder to control. Peanuts motif. Wearing a Japan shirt, she with his Olympic silver that he started sports do need that. (At) the cafeteria last “Your feet starting burning up,” Huston practiced ollies, a basic trick, as she waited picturing kids back in his native Brazil night, the majority of the countries, the said. “Your board like gets so hot that it outside the venue, hoping to glimpse the perhaps putting aside their soccer balls skate guys, we all sat down for dinner as kind of flexes more. That’s kind of why I skaters on their way in. and hopping onto four wheels instead. like, ‘Let’s all sit down before the event fell on one of those tricks out there.” “Some people scold me,” she said. “So I “It’s going to be mind-changing for starts.’ You don’t see that in swimming.” Still, Huston talked up skating’s have to hide.”
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ENERGY TRUST for BUSINESS Run Better Page 14 n THE ASIAN REPORTER CORONAVIRUS August 2, 2021 Explainer: Employers have legal right to mandate COVID shots By Mae Anderson and DANGEROUS DELTA VARIANT. A patient Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar has her body temperature screened after showing her The Associated Press COVID-19 vaccine card at Clínica Monseñor Oscar A. Romero in the Pico-Union district of Los Angeles. The ASHINGTON — The U.S. state of California will soon require proof of vaccina- Department of Veterans Affairs. tion or weekly testing for all state workers and millions WThe state of California. New of public- and private-sector healthcare employees. York City. Hospitals and nursing homes. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Colleges and universities. Employers are “The more we learn about this virus and putting COVID-19 vaccine mandates into the delta variation, the more we have to be place and it’s getting attention. worried and concerned,” the president On July 27, President Joe Biden said a said, adding that if another 100 million requirement is under consideration for all Americans were vaccinated “we’d be in a federal employees. But what happens if very different world.” workers refuse? The push for vaccines had been Federal legal guidance out last month piecemeal in the corporate world. Delta suggests the law is on the side of the rights of employers and workers in a employees physically entering the and United airlines require new employ- employers. Vaccination can be considered legal opinion. It tackled an argument workplace to be vaccinated for COVID-19.” ees to show proof of vaccination. Goldman a “condition of employment,” akin to a job raised by some vaccine skeptics that the The EEOC listed some cases in which Sachs requires its employees to disclose qualification. federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act pro- employers must offer exemptions. People their vaccination status, but is not That said, employment lawyers believe hibits employers from requiring vaccina- who have a medical or religious reason can requiring staffers to be vaccinated. many businesses will want to meet tion with shots that are only approved for be accommodated through alternative Several other organizations now have hesitant workers halfway. emergency use, as coronavirus vaccines measures. Those can include getting added requirements, including Saks Fifth Can employers require a currently are. tested weekly, wearing masks while in the Avenue, Morgan Stanley, Lyft, Google, coronavirus vaccine? Department lawyers wrote that the law office, or working remotely. Facebook, and others. Yes. Private companies and government in question requires individuals be Who is requiring the vaccine? Michelle S. Strowhiro, an employment agencies can require their employees to get informed of their “option to accept or The Department of Veterans Affairs last adviser and lawyer at McDermott Will & vaccinated as a condition of working there. refuse administration” of an emergency week became the first major federal Emery, said there are costs for employers Individuals retain the right to refuse, but use vaccine or drug. But that requirement agency to require healthcare workers to requiring vaccines. There’s the admini- they have no ironclad right to legal pro- does not prohibit employers from get a COVID-19 vaccine. Also on July 26, strative burden of tracking compliance tection. mandating vaccination as “a condition of the state of California said it will require and managing exemption requests. “Those who have a disability or a employment.” millions of healthcare workers and state Claims of discrimination could also arise. sincerely held religious belief may be The same reasoning applies to employees to show proof of a COVID-19 But ultimately, the rise in the delta entitled to a reasonable accommodation universities, school districts, or other vaccination or get tested weekly. And New variant and breakthrough cases in fully under civil-rights laws, so long as entities potentially requiring COVID-19 York City will require all of its municipal vaccinated people has “served as extra providing that accommodation does not vaccines, the lawyers added. Available workers — including teachers and police motivation for employers to take a constitute an undue hardship for the evidence overwhelmingly shows the officers — to get coronavirus vaccines by stronger stand on vaccination generally,” employer,” said Sharon Perley Masling, an vaccines are safe and effective. mid-September or face weekly testing. she said. “Employers are going to be employment lawyer who leads the The Justice Department opinion fol- Raising expectations, Biden said a looking toward vaccine mandates more COVID-19 task force at Morgan Lewis. lowed earlier guidance from the federal vaccine requirement for all federal and more.” Employees who don’t meet such criteria Equal Employment Opportunity Commis- workers is “under consideration right Is there any other “may need to go on leave or seek different sion (EEOC) that federal laws prohibiting now.” He later provided the next steps for alternative to mandates? opportunities,” she added. discrimination in the workplace “do not his administration’s vaccination Instead of requiring vaccines, some The U.S. Justice Department addressed prevent an employer from requiring all campaign. Continued on page 15
66% of Asian/ Pacific Islander children have
Accidents happen in an instant. no/low swimming Whether boating, tubing or swimming, ability always wear a life jacket.
oregonmetro.gov/natureeducation
Parks and nature Arts and events Garbage and recycling Land and transportation Oregon Zoo August 2, 2021 CORONAVIRUS THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 15 Study: Vaccinated people can carry as much virus as others By Lindsey Tanner, Mike Researchers ran tests on a portion of Stobbe, and Philip Marcelo them and found roughly the same level of The Associated Press virus in those who were fully vaccinated and those who were not. n another dispiriting setback for the Three-quarters of the infections were in nation’s efforts to stamp out the fully vaccinated individuals. Among those Icoronavirus, scientists who studied a fully vaccinated, about 80% experienced big COVID-19 outbreak in Massachusetts symptoms with the most common being concluded that vaccinated people who got cough, headache, sore throat, muscle so-called breakthrough infections carried aches, and fever. about the same amount of the coronavirus Dagenais said he started to feel ill the as those who did not get the shots. evening he returned home and initially Health officials on July 30 released chalked it up to long nights of partying in details of that research, which was key in packed Provincetown nightclubs. the decision by the Centers for Disease
AP Illustration/Peter Hamlin But as the days wore on and the fever, Control and Prevention (CDC) to chills, muscle aches, and fatigue set in, he recommend that vaccinated people return comment on the documents. according to the leaked documents. knew it was something more. to wearing masks indoors in parts of the The White House defended its approach Although experts generally agreed with In the report, the measure researchers U.S. where the delta variant is fuelling to rising virus cases and shifting public the CDC’s revised indoor masking stance, used to assess how much virus an infected infection surges. The authors said the health guidelines, repeatedly deferring to some said the report on the Provincetown person is carrying does not indicate findings suggest that the CDC’s mask the CDC while stressing the need for outbreak does not prove that vaccinated whether they are actually transmitting guidance should be expanded to include vaccinations. people are a significant source of new the virus to other people, said Dr. Angela the entire country, even outside of hot “The most important takeaway is infections. Rasmussen, a virologist at the University spots. actually pretty simple. We need more “There’s scientific plausibility for the of Saskatchewan. The findings have the potential to upend people to get vaccinated,” White House (CDC) recommendation. But it’s not CDC officials say more data is coming. past thinking about how the disease is spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said. derived from this study,” said Jennifer They are tracking breakthrough cases as spread. Previously, vaccinated people who Pressed about the changing guidance, Nuzzo, a Johns Hopkins University public part of much larger studies that involve got infected were thought to have low Jean-Pierre repeatedly said, “We don’t health researcher. following tens of thousands of vaccinated levels of virus and to be unlikely to pass it make those types of decisions from here.” The CDC report is based on about 470 and unvaccinated people across the to others. But the new data shows that is People with breakthrough infections COVID-19 cases linked to the country over time. not the case with the delta variant. make up an increasing portion of Provincetown festivities, which included The Associated Press Health and Science The outbreak in Provincetown — a hospitalizations and in-hospital deaths densely packed indoor and outdoor holiday Department receives support from the Howard seaside tourist spot on Cape Cod in the among COVID-19 patients, coinciding events at bars, restaurants, guest houses, Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science county with Massachusetts’ highest with the spread of the delta variant, and rental homes. Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content. vaccination rate — has so far included Explainer: Employers have legal right to mandate COVID shots more than 900 cases. About three-quarters tested weekly instead. Masling. of them were people who were fully Continued from page 14 If an employer does set a hard A recent legal decision may help move vaccinated. companies are trying to entice workers by requirement, employees can ask for an the needle. In June, a federal district court Travis Dagenais, who was among the offering cash bonuses, paid time off, and exemption for medical or religious reasons. in Texas rejected an attempt by medical many vaccinated people infected, said other rewards. Walmart, for example, is Then, under EEOC civil-rights rules, the workers to challenge the legality of “throwing caution to the wind” and offering a $75 bonus for employees who employer must provide “reasonable Houston Methodist Hospital’s vaccine partying in crowds for long nights over the provide proof they were vaccinated. accommodation that does not pose an mandate. The court found such a July Fourth holiday was a mistake in Amazon is giving workers an $80 bonus if undue hardship on the operation of the requirement in line with public policy. hindsight. they show proof of vaccination and new employer’s business.” Some alternatives Dorit Reiss, a law professor who “The dominant public messaging has hires get $100 if they’re vaccinated. could include wearing a face mask at work, specializes in vaccine policies at the been that the vaccine means a return to What are the options for social distancing, working a modified shift, University of California Hastings College normal,” the 35-year-old Boston resident employees if they don’t COVID-19 testing, or the option to work of the Law, said “more businesses will have said. “Unfortunately, I’ve now learned it’s want to take the vaccine? remotely, or even offering a reassignment. confidence they can mandate the vaccine.” a few steps toward normal, not the Most employers are likely to give Will workplace mandates turn She believes most companies will go the zero-to-60 that we seem to have workers some options if they don’t want to the tide on vaccine hesitancy? route of a soft mandate, with alternatives undertaken.” take the vaccine. For example, New York It’s too early to tell. for employees who remain reluctant. Dagenais credits being vaccinated with City and California have imposed what’s “Every employer that decides to “I think it’s a reasonable option,” she easing the worst of the flu-like symptoms being called a “soft mandate” — workers mandate vaccination paves the way for said. in a couple of days. He has recovered. who don’t want to get vaccinated can get other employers to feel safer doing so,” said Anderson reported from Nashville, Tennessee. Like many states, Massachusetts lifted all COVID-19 restrictions in late May, ahead of the traditional Memorial Day The Asian Reporter is published on start of the summer season. Provincetown the first Monday each month. last week reinstated an indoor mask News page advertising deadlines requirement for everyone. for our next two issues are: Leaked internal documents on breakthrough infections and the delta September 6, 2021 edition: variant suggest the CDC may be Space reservations due: Wednesday, Sept. 1 at 1:00pm considering other changes in advice on Artwork due: Thursday, Sept. 2 at 1:00pm how the nation fights the coronavirus, Reduce October 4, 2021 edition: such as recommending masks for everyone Reuse and requiring vaccines for doctors and Space reservations due: Wednesday, Sept. 29 at 1:00pm other health workers. Artwork due: Thursday, Sept. 30 at 1:00pm Recycle The delta variant, first detected in India, causes infections that are more contagious than the common cold, flu, smallpox, and Killingsworth Station the Ebola virus, and it is as infectious as chickenpox, according to the documents, Food Cart Pod which mentioned the Provincetown cases. Experience a collection of The documents were obtained by The food carts featuring a variety Washington Post. As they note, COVID-19 vaccines are still highly effective against of international flavors! the delta variant at preventing serious OUTDOOR SEATING IS OPEN! illness and death. The Provincetown outbreak and the documents highlight the enormous challenge the CDC faces in encouraging vaccination while acknowledging that breakthrough cases can occur and can be contagious but are uncommon. The documents appear to be talking points for CDC staff to use with the public. One point advised: “Acknowledge the war has changed,” an apparent reference to 1331 N. Killingsworth Street, Portland deepening concern that many millions of (1 block east of N. Interstate Avenue) vaccinated people could be a source of www.killingsworthstationpod.com wide-ranging spread. www.facebook.com/KillingsworthStation An agency spokeswoman declined to Page 16 n THE ASIAN REPORTER COMMUNITY / A.C.E. August 2, 2021
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Continued from page 16 Dinh Q. Lê FUND SERVICES August 5 to October 2, 2021 Elizabeth Leach Gallery ASSOCIATE Works by Vietnam-born Dinh Q. Lê are on display Oregon Community Foundation is hiring a Fund August 5 through October 2 at Elizabeth Leach Gallery. Services Associate, responsible for processing all “Monuments and Memorials” is a new series of large-scale contributions received by OCF and supporting the ad- photo weavings that reflect on collective memory and ministration of other illiquid gifts such as life insurance architectural commemoration. The artist’s evocative and real estate. Assists with fund administration, re- photographic artworks combine interior and exterior “MONUMENTS AND MEMORIALS.” Pictured is Dinh Q. Lê’s porting and continuous improvement of the contribu- pictures of Cambodian sites and pair the seemingly “Monuments and Memorials 8,” 2021, c-prints and linen tape, 43” x tions process. More info and to apply: 64.5”, unframed. Works by the Vietnam-born artist are on display August unresolvable, competing narratives of a country’s past
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