Winter Party attendee tested positive for coronavirus

Photo of a past Winter Party Festival in Miami

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force announced that an attendee at this year’s Winter Party Festival in Miami, the organization’s annual fundraiser, tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

On the official Winter Party Instagram account, NGLTF’s executive director Rea Carey posted this message: “I was informed that one of our Winter Party Festival (WPF) guests has tested positive for COVID-19 this last week. We are grateful to them for alerting us, particularly given that they were not experiencing symptoms during WPF. “

Carey noted that there is no way of knowing if anyone actually carried coronavirus during the event as “there are many places people could have been exposed before and after Winter Party as this virus has developed.”

NGLTF distributed hand sanitizer at Winter Party, but it is unclear how effective such a measure is: The crowds are dense, with people standing shoulder-to-shoulder, often shirtless.

Related: Here is an updated list of events that have been canceled because of the coronavirus

COVID-19 is particularly troublesome for LGBTQ. Statistics show that we are more likely to smoke tobacco products than the general population. Smoking damages lung tissue, which is thought to be a risk factor for COVID-19.

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