Already since March 16, the governor of the State of New York and the mayor of the city had closed the public places, museums, theaters and restaurants, these can only remain open for deliveries or sales without consumption. on the spot. At the risk of disappointing the French who pride themselves, for fun or for complaining, of being unruly, the result was no more brilliant in New York than in Paris. The spring sun had filled Central Park with strollers, groups of strollers were enjoying these unexpected vacations without showing any particular civility.
In supermarkets, Americans have given in to the same strange obsession with now rationed toilet paper, which does not change anything since there is no more. And everyone has filled their refrigerator, even their cellar, with pasta and rice, as evidenced by the long lines at the checkouts despite American opening hours, usually until midnight. In the streets, few masks, but very chic old ladies with blue rubber gloves caught in their kitchen. As in Paris too, anyone who could have fled, car full to the roof, to their second home in the Hamptons or in the north of the state.
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The governor, Andrew Cuomo, therefore had to thunder against the unconsciousness of New Yorkers before resolving to take the next step of confinement, but without a fine for the offenders, from Sunday, March 22. This morning, the wide avenues of New York were quite empty. Cuomo has also become a star by holding a daily press conference where he demonstrates talents of authority, calm and transparency, which gave him the opportunity of an interview on CNN with the journalist … Christopher Cuomo , his own brother. However, as in France again, politics does not lose its rights, whether it is the recurring quarrel between the governor and the mayor, traditional in New York but exacerbated today by the personality of the two protagonists and the scale of the crisis, or between the governor and President Trump.
The mayor has issued a cry of alarm: it will soon be necessary to choose the patients to be saved
In fact, the president stayed away, for the most part, from health security measures, for which he left the entire responsibility to the governors, which owes more to his will not to assume the unpopularity than its respect for federalism. The result is not only a more or less rigorous interstate cacophony, Democrats in general being more rigorous than Republicans, as witnessed by Florida which has let hundreds of thousands of students party on its beaches for spring break. Each governor must therefore cope on his own, in particular for the acquisition of equipment such as fans, while the president has the powers to force manufacturers to direct their production as a matter of urgency. Trump has so far refused to do so despite Cuomo’s urging. The tension is palpable between the two men.
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The situation in New York is particularly critical. The number of cases identified has exceeded that of France for a population four or five times smaller. Half of the cases in the United States were in New York. The mayor has just issued a cry of alarm: in the next few days, if nothing is done, it will be necessary to choose between the patients to be saved. Responding to this call for help, the army set up a gigantic field hospital in a conference center. As Bill de Blasio acknowledged, the worst is yet to come, probably throughout the months of April and May. He announced that there would be a lot of deaths in his town.
Basically, faced with the crisis, New York sums up, as usual, the qualities and limitations of the American model. Limits which could prove costly in terms of human lives: lack of universal medical coverage which will mean that many patients without insurance will not go to the hospital – where, of course, they will be treated but by presenting them with the note – that at the last moment ; lack of coordination between hospitals, which are mostly private; lack of a national containment policy; immediate dismissal of workers affected by the cessation of activity, in particular in the service sector. New York is preparing, despite itself, to be the laboratory of the United States in the face of the crisis.
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Limits of the model but also qualities in a country where, as Tocqueville pointed out, we have always relied on ourselves and our community: around me, we are already mobilizing to help the elderly or to prevent small businesses in the neighborhood. do not go bankrupt. Financing plans are drawn up: I am called upon to prepay five or ten meals at the restaurant on the corner of the street to maintain his cash flow. Everyone is trying to contribute and when I ordered pizza over the phone the receptionist, still as lovely as ever, added, “Thank you for helping us through this difficult time. “I doubled the tip … Foundations, often very rich here, and large companies are also mobilizing. The French will sneer, but the United States is indeed this disconcerting mixture for us of harshness and kindness. Each company responds to its own logic.
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