New York and surrounding states are under orders to stay at
home unless performing essential tasks, such as grocery shopping or seeking
medical attention, and while things are crowded in our apartment, we are happy
to comply.
Americais late to these measures, but most people in New York City are
adhering to them. Normally bustling and crowded streets and sidewalks were
mostly empty. Buses still roll by our building on Union Street in Flushing,
Queens, but they are mostly empty. Even the Q44 bus, which is normally packed
with commuters at all hours of the day and night, is deserted.
Our youngest daughter agreed to go for a walk through the
woods in CunninghamPark with me a few weeks ago, and we stayed beyond the standard
six-foot “social distancing” distance from everyone we saw. As the virus is
expected to peakin New York over the next two weeks, I’m planning to stay locked down
and not leave our apartment at all unless we absolutely must.
I ventured out to do food shopping this past Thursday,
waiting until later at night to go. There were few people about, but it was
encouraging to see there was plenty of food—they even had toilet paper—and
people were mostly good about keeping their distance. When I got home my wife
wiped everything down with bleach water. I sprayed myself with disinfectant and
then put all the clothes I was wearing in the laundry before washing my hands
like I was scrubbing down to perform surgery.
I am extremely fortunate that I have a job that enables me
to work from home. I have friends and family who depend on the real human world
for their livelihood, and many of them do not know what they are going to do. The
aid being offered by the government is late and promises to be inefficient. People
are looking for light at the end of the tunnel and it’s not there yet; as a
nation we’re still debating measures we should have all taken months ago.
My family is extremely lucky that my wife is talented and
resourceful enough to sew our own medical masks. Hospitals are running in such
short supply that they are releasing patterns to the general public and asking
people to make their own and donate some if they are able. My wife made some
for friends who are nurses and who are being told they must reuse their
disposable mask and are not allowed to leave the hospital with it. Such shortagesof basic medical supplies are inexcusable in a first-world country.
Americans and New Yorkers are adapting to the coronavirus in
amazing ways, but there are still too many unknowns for a comfortable
confidence to take root. There are shortages of medical supplies and doctors
fear that hospitals may be overwhelmed with virus patients in the coming weeks
and months.
One night this week, after reading some of the news stories
about how this is unfolding in our city, I was unable to sleep. What if one of
my kids gets stick and there are no beds in the hospitals, no medicine or
medical supplies to treat them? Have I failed my family by not getting them out
of the city?
Keeping up with people on social media, we’re seeing the
toll of those infected rise in the city. A friend of a friend has passed away,
another friend is waiting in the ER. A married couple we’re friends with both
had bad fevers a few weeks back that got bad enough they wanted to be tested
for the coronavirus; they recovered and still haven’t gotten a call back.
I’m confident that my immediate family and I will survive,
and that people will be sick and tired enough to make real changes we need in
our society. I’m going to celebrate with picnics, music, a new tattoo or two,
and feasts and parties with friends.
Stay safe and stay inside unless you absolutely must go out.
Keep away from people. Be the cold, distant New Yorker you were always meant
to be. Lives depend on it.
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