“There is no doubt that there will be more positives [por coronavirus]. We already said that it was not a question of if, but of when. This is New York. We are a gateway to the world. ” From the beginning of March it was clear to Andrew Cuomo, governor of the state of New York and now also, de facto, of the American coronavirus. Since then, the city that never slept has been closing sports and cultural centers, including the iconic Broadway. Schools, nightclubs, bars. The threat of the collapse of its health services due to the massive arrival of Covid-19 patients comes early from China, Italy and Spain. After confirming the first case on March 1, New York State has concentrated almost 9% of all those accounted for in the world.
This Saturday President Donald Trump has announced that he is weighing a quarantine in what is known as the Tri-State area (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut), without specifying more details. Governor Cuomo, who had spoken to Trump shortly before by telephone, has assured that the president had not proposed this measure to him and has been totally contrary: “I do not even know what that means, I do not know how it could be legally enforceable and, since From a medical point of view, I don’t know what I would get. ” “I don’t even like how it sounds,” he riveted.
New York is not quarantined at this time. But yes paused. In an unusual pause. He is not silent, but he is silent. Times Square, symbol of the New York bustle by day and by night, it is now of this stranger stand-by. Just a couple of fast food stands were active this week in a place that is normally one of the most hectic on the planet. Some onlookers were trying to capture the relative emptiness with their mobile phones, while a group of pigeons dozed on the most unthinkable free ground in the world.
On March 9, Washington Square, south of Manhattan, busted with students enjoying about 22 degrees Celsius, exceptional for the date. Some, especially those most connected to Europe or Asia, were beginning to avoid handshakes, Merkel style. But most greeted with the usual energy and contact. Crowded subways and buses. True to its essence, New York bustled.
But the threat of the coronavirus hung over the global city of 8.5 million inhabitants (more than 20 in its area of influence), which also receives about 65 million tourists a year. The capital of the world. The United Nations, Wall Street, diplomacy, finance.
New year, new threat
The first signs of the coronavirus came in late January, coinciding with the start of the Chinese New Year. Both the Governor of the State and the Mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio, announced some preparations, once confirmed the first two cases in the United States, but they considered a low risk.
Andrew Cuomo mentioned that there were four isolated people waiting for the results of their diagnostic tests. De Blasio encouraged New Yorkers to get on with their lives: “What we know so far is that only through prolonged exposure can you get the virus.” Although he warned: the information had to be taken with caution, “since nowhere in the world is there a complete answer yet.”
Then xenophobic episodes arose against the Chinese population in New York, the largest in the world outside Asia. In the Flushing neighborhood of Queens, the festival was canceled to celebrate the new year. But In Chinatown, in Manhattan, the traditional parade was still held on February 9. Asian businesses complained about the lack of influx, but the issue was almost forgotten. Hardly any isolated mask remembered the threat that, however, was spreading globally.
On March 1 the first case of coronavirus was confirmed in the State and the city, a 39-year-old woman who had recently returned from Iran. Already on February 26, Cuomo warned of the high probability of positives in the State, as “front door of international entrances”. The cases went up that first week. The first focus was located less than 40 kilometers north of New York, in the city of New Rochelle, of about 80,000 inhabitants.
There it went from nine positives on March 4 to 121 a week later. Although shocking news came – National Guard officers, in their military uniforms, handing out food and cleaning even school toys – they still seemed far from Manhattan. Half-gas, with symbols like the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building closed and official recommendations to stay home, the parks were still filled, if possible, in the spring sun.
So after a certain tug-of-war between the governor and the mayor, who together with the political sign (both are Democrats) share a certain rivalry, on Sunday, March 15 (already with 729 cases in the state and 329 in the city, surpassing the focus of New Rochelle) it was decided to close public schools and also the imminent closure of the bars. Many hoteliers still saw the exaggerated measure: “I have family in Italy and 650 friends on Facebook, and nobody I know has the coronavirus. Plus, it’s like a flu. And they are going to leave us without income, ”protested a New York waitress.
With the accelerated rise in the numbers, partly due to the increased ability to do test (They have been made more per capita than China or Korea, according to Cuomo), until this Saturday, the state concentrates 52,318 confirmed cases (47% of those in the United States). Of every 10 confirmed cases worldwide, one is in New York State today. And almost 30,000 of them correspond to the Big Apple.
“Why? Because we welcome people from all over the planet, “says the governor, citing the arrival of travelers from China, South Korea and Italy. In addition, he mentions the density of population: “That closeness, that concept of family, of community, that is what makes New York New York. And it is what made us vulnerable. But that closeness will also be our greatest strength. ” Cuomo was referring to the fact that, as on other occasions, New Yorkers have turned to solidarity. More than 60,000 healthcare workers and 10,000 mental health specialists have responded to the request for volunteers to help in this crisis.
Since Monday, March 22, it is mandatory to stay almost two meters from anyone who does not live under the same roof. A distance alien to the dense routine of the city par excellence. “Socially estranged, but spiritually connected,” suggests Cuomo. Now, Mayor De Blasio has announced possible fines for those who fail to comply with this measure, which is increasingly respected.
Health centers begin to fill up as hospitals are built and temporary morgues, and the arrival of a Navy hospital ship is expected. Some of the mostly empty hotels and student residences have also agreed to become temporary accommodation for health workers and the less seriously ill. The peak is expected in two to three weeks.
The economic consequences are expected to be devastating. Billions of dollars in losses are estimated. Mayor De Blasio has insisted that this situation can only be compared to the Great Depression in the 1930s. He and Governor Cuomo both agree to maintain crossfire with the White House. They demand more help, they underline the historical nature of the situation. As Cuomo highlights: “It will be one of those moments that will be written and talked about for generations. It will change this nation. “
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