Topline:&nbsp;As New York City’s coronavirus cases exploded in recent weeks, residents fleeing to second homes have come under intense scrutiny and push-back, prompting officials in multiple states to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20200328/ri-tightens-restrictions-after-2-virus-deaths" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">create highway checkpoints</a>&nbsp;screening for New Yorkers and a<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/travel-in-the-us.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;national travel advisory for the entire Tri-state area</a>, highlighting the dramatic roles class and wealth will play in the pandemic.&nbsp;



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>With over 56,000 coronavirus cases in New York, privileged New Yorkers with secondary homes are fleeing the City with massive effect on vacation home communities: the population of Southampton has gone from <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/welcome-to-the-shore-now-go-home-new-yorkers-fleeing-to-surrounding-areas-get-blasted-by-locals-2020-03-25" target="_blank">60,000 a few weeks ago to 100,000</a> and rental prices in Hudson Valley rocketed from <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/20/panicked-wealthy-fleeing-the-coronavirus-drive-up-rental-prices-in-the-hamptons-and-hudson-valley.html" target="_blank">$4,000 to $18,000 per month</a>—posing a threat to small-town hospitals that are ill-equipped to handle caring for high numbers of coronavirus patients.</li><li>In wealthy New England island communities like Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard and Block Island that are heavy with secondary homes and short on hospital infrastructure, officials are going so far as to cancel <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.blockislandtimes.com/article/town-rolls-welcome-mat/57046" target="_blank">all hotel, Airbnb and VRBO reservations</a> while stationing <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.masslive.com/coronavirus/2020/03/coronavirus-on-nantucket-marthas-vineyard-massachusetts-state-police-add-more-troopers-to-islands.html" target="_blank">state troopers</a> and the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/27/us/rhode-island-tracking-down-new-yorkers/index.html" target="_blank">National Guard</a> to maintain flow on islands and, in the case of Rhode Island, instating 14 day mandatory quarantine on all people traveling to stay in the state from New York, New Jersey or Connecticut.</li><li>As outrage has grown at the privileged fleeing the city while middle and working classes remain confined in New York City apartments, there’s been social media clapback at ostentatious displays of wealth in isolation: Geffen Records and Dreamworks Billionaire David Geffen ultimately deleted his Instagram of his $570 million megayacht captioned: “Sunset last night..isolated in the Grenadines avoiding the virus. I’m hoping everybody is staying safe” after it sparked <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2020/03/28/long-live-david-geffen-yachtmaster---and-new-king-of-tone-deaf-instagram-posts/#728d19456fd1">outrage on social media</a>.</li></ul>



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Thanks, David Geffen, for your thoughts. <a href="https://t.co/5XTRhGX5OP">pic.twitter.com/5XTRhGX5OP</a>&mdash; southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) <a href="https://twitter.com/nycsouthpaw/status/1243886478729633792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 28, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>New York City’s poorer boroughs are <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/imm/covid-19-data-map.pdf" target="_blank">hit hardest</a> by coronavirus: Brooklyn and Queens, where median income is  $56,015 and $64,987, respectively, remain the epicenter of COVID-19, compared to Manhattan with average income of <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/newyorkcountymanhattanboroughnewyork,bronxcountybronxboroughnewyork,queenscountyqueensboroughnewyork,kingscountybrooklynboroughnewyork,richmondcountystatenislandboroughnewyork,newyorkcitynewyork/HSG010218" target="_blank">$82,459</a>, which has been less permeated by the virus and is home to many of <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://ny.curbed.com/2017/6/27/15881706/nyc-richest-neighborhoods-manhattan-brooklyn" target="_blank">Manhattan’s wealthiest enclaves</a>—and those most likely to have residents with second homes elsewhere.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>On Saturday, President Trump said he was considering quarantining parts of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, then, backed down and issued<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/travel-in-the-us.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;a domestic travel advisory for the tristate area</a>&nbsp;that discourages residents of these states from non-essential domestic travel after “very intensive discussions” at the White House on Saturday night, said Dr. Anthony Fauci&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/29/politics/fauci-trump-quarantine-white-house-discussions/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">on CNN today</a>: “The better way to do this would be an advisory as opposed to a very strict quarantine, and the President agreed.”</li><li>“Due to our very limited health care infrastructure, please do not visit us now,” reads&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/03/24/cook-county-to-secondhome-owners-stay-away-for-now" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a travel advisory</a>&nbsp;from Lake Superior’s Cook County in Michigan, exemplifying vacation towns’ plea to travelers and second home owners across the country to stay away.&nbsp;</li></ul>



Background: Coronavirus cases in the United States have skyrocketed to 124,000, with deaths doubling from 1,000 to 2,046 in <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/29/health/us-coronavirus-wrap-sunday/index.html" target="_blank">two days</a>. Since those with COVID-19 can be asymptomatic for days, their presence in remote communities may be deadly, as they can spread the virus and wreak havoc on rural hospitals. The clash between wealthy and poor, also creates <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/28/us/coronavirus-rhode-island-checkpoint.html" target="_blank">state-versus-state hostility</a>, as federal support is limited and essential to states overcoming coronavirus.



&#8211; <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandrasternlicht/">Alexandra Sternlicht</a>, Forbes Staff, Under 30

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As Wealthy Depart For Second Homes, Class Tensions Come To Surface In Coronavirus Crisis

Class, culture and sheer opulence are hallmarks of an urban Nigerian wedding. Lagos is emerging a wedding planner’s playground. Every weekend sees one or the other wedding convoy making its grand sojourn through the city.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29748 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/c57907c076cb3533fdee4d24678e019d-291x300.jpg" alt="" width="291" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/c57907c076cb3533fdee4d24678e019d-291x300.jpg 291w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/c57907c076cb3533fdee4d24678e019d-300x309.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/c57907c076cb3533fdee4d24678e019d-600x618.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/c57907c076cb3533fdee4d24678e019d.jpg 617w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 291px) 100vw, 291px" />
But destination weddings are the order of the day. Be it Mauritius, Cape Town or Dubai, the venues are getting more creative, and the event planners boast busy calendars, globe-trotting from one exotic venue to another. All they ask for is a meaty budget.
Mati Gono is a London-based wedding planner specializing in premium and tailor-made wedding experiences for her clients. The clientele of her events company, Just as Planned, is 85% elite Nigerian. Her specialty is organizing the A to Z of lavish nuptials.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29747 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/223A3795-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/223A3795-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/223A3795-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/223A3795-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/223A3795-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/223A3795.jpg 1023w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
“Nigerian weddings are very colorful, opulent and there is never a dull moment. They are full of culture and the family is usually the focus. So whether there is the traditional breaking of the Kola nut, an opening prayer, or a live band, Nigerian weddings are full of character and the guests really come out to celebrate the couple getting married,” says Gono.
Gono, who recently planned a $161,000 Nigerian wedding, is accustomed to the lofty expectations of her clients.
“On one of our most demanding weddings to date, we had to ensure the service and hospitality was 110%, due to the types of guests we had attending. The logistics were a little challenging [it was a wedding in central London] but I like a challenge and we pulled it off.”
Attending the wedding were high-profile guests, including the bride’s brother, Nigerian footballer Victor Chinedu Anichebe, who plays for West Bromwich Albion, and US reality TV star Angela Simmons.
The traditional aspects of a Nigerian wedding involve color, culture and identity. Cloth merchants who sell traditional fabrics experience year-round boom – the grander the nuptials, the more expensive and richer the fabric.
Glamorous designer gowns – as many as three – are a must. As is music. Best-selling artists and live bands are flown in from across the world to perform. In addition is the use of newer trends in technology and media. The runup to the wedding is given enough coverage on social media: hash tags are de rigeur.
“The couple use it to inform their guests as this enables friends and family to share their special day with the world,” says Gono.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29749 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/223A3784-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/223A3784-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/223A3784-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/223A3784-600x900.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/223A3784-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/223A3784-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/223A3784.jpg 682w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />
Another trend is the unique chandelier wedding cake. It’s one of the many wow elements of a wedding, says Gono. From venues that cost £50,000, centerpieces and decorations that cost £5,000, to catering at £10,675, it is all about flashing the cash. Gono has been fully involved in the business of weddings, and already has bookings for the new year. But she has always had a love for event planning. The very first wedding she planned and executed successfully was in 2007, and there was no looking back. She started her company in 2011.
“It was a natural calling. It all started with coordinating a few events for friends and family and it grew from there,” says Gono, as she animatedly prepares for her next overseas trip looking for an even more exciting destination for another lucky bride and groom.

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The Wedding Cake  As Chandelier?

Realistic and measurable transformation within certain South African industries has been a long journey. In some sectors it has warped definitions as boxes are ticked mechanically.  In others transformation is non-existent. The agricultural sector unfortunately still carries the stigma of embracing change at an extremely slow pace. Its record on transformation is patchy at best.
The wine industry is no different. With its sterling international reputation  and millions of liters of South African wine exported every year, vexed questions still remain on whether this generational industry has genuinely transformed and if so, to what extent?
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-5762" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/FWA-2013-Oct-076-077-ENTR-Wine-002-300x275.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="275" />
In this industry, broad-based black economic empowerment transactions are usually viewed as façades used to divert unwanted questions from those who are pro-transformation. Despite these realities, there are women who are working tirelessly towards altering the status quo, with passion, to bring about significant change within the wine industry.
Nondumiso Pikashe and Carmen Stevens are two of these women. Ignoring skeptics and forecasts of failure, their professional journeys are the result of meticulous timing, dedication and resilience. Responding to a call from former president Thabo Mbeki in 2004 for active players within South Africa’s economy, Pikashe decided to enter an industry completely foreign to her. “Curiosity was what attracted me to [winemaking],” she explains.
“I was always fascinated by wine because in the townships it was an alcoholic beverage that was associated with shattered homes…, while on the other hand, wine’s other face was one of sophistication, class and elegance.”
Wanting to find out more about the characteristics of wine, the more she researched, the more Pikashe became intoxicated by the industry. And thus, Ses’fikile wine was born.
‘Ses’fikile’ is isiXhosa for ‘we have arrived’.
“My wines symbolize the impact that the growing number of women within the industry are making, regardless of the challenges and obstacles they face,” she says, proudly. Pikashe is frustrated by the pace of change in the winemaking industry. She says little is being done in order to pique the curiosity of young black girls.
“I entered the industry through support from associations and groups which are now collectively known as the Wine Industry Development Agency. The work they are doing is commendable; however, more needs to be done.”
Another player in the South African winemaking industry is Carmen Stevens. Unlike Pikashe, Stevens says it was almost a given that she would enter the industry because of how passionate she had always felt about winemaking. A winemaker at the esteemed Amani estate in the Cape Winelands, her passion for the technicalities behind the process has earned her respect throughout the industry. With 18 years’ experience and two harvest internships – one in California and the other in France – under her belt, Stevens is set to make a significant change in the industry.
“I just knew that I wanted to make wine: the smell of the wine cellar; the enchanting and sometimes majestic process of the art of winemaking was fueled by fantasies I developed from reading through my mom’s romantic novels, which were set in the vineyards,” Stevens recalls.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-5765" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/FWA-2013-Oct-076-077-ENTR-Wine-001-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" />
Stevens is using her passion for wine to change women’s access to land and promote skills sharing.
“Agricultural land needs to be more affordable within the well-known wine regions to increase both female and black participation. The government needs to look into sustainable strategies in order to bring this into being. Skills transfer and development is another thing. Yes, there has been a visible growth of female winemakers within the industry, however, the growth in understanding of the industry holistically still needs much work,” she argues.
Stevens believes that the South African winemaking industry has the opportunity to increase the percentage of women and black role players.
She is upbeat about her future in the industry.
“Amani has given me the opportunity to make wines that are reflection of me, having a brand that carries my name is the next big step,” she says.
Carmen’s recent association with UK-based brand Naked Wine has inspired her to developing her own blends – Carmen Stevens Wines.
“Watching my brand growing each year has been a great experience; this puts me in a position to develop future winemakers as well, that is something that is necessary and which will be very humbling,” she concludes.

Tag: Class

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

As Wealthy Depart For Second Homes, Class Tensions Come To Surface In Coronavirus Crisis

The Wedding Cake As Chandelier?

Ses’fikile We have arrived