The health crisis is raging in the United States . The epidemic written by a New Yorker, these are images that jump in the face “and amaze you”. That of the Republican Guard sent “to confine New Rochelle”, a small town in the metropolitan area and epicenter of the epidemic, a stone’s throw from the house of Gilles Pelosato’s family. That of the arrival of “the white army boat moored in the port”. Le Lorrain, installed across the Atlantic for four years, still cites “the Manhattan district at a standstill” whose silence is only disturbed by the “incessant round trips of ambulances”. The recent photos of mass graves on an islet remind us that the coronavirus is not just a story of numbers and that there are coffins at the end. The city that never sleeps is crippled with pain.
The finance specialist does not recognize the business district where their offices are located. Taxis have disappeared, Time Square is abandoned. “A lot of people have left New York, but colleagues still live there. Real New Yorkers will adapt. Manhattan is cosmopolitan, they feel a lot of pressure because of the presence of the virus. And it’s cumbersome to hear only emergency sirens or to cross only the police. “Forced to telecommute, Gilles Pelosato and his family are living the coronavirus from their home in Scarsdale, near the Bronx and Brooklyn.
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“Here, you are bad if you lose your job”
Le Mosellan describes this America with two faces and “with more marked inequalities today”. His, “in which we are doing better. It is of course worrying to know that the epicenter of the virus is in the neighboring town. But in Scarsdale, there is space, we breathe. There is not a confinement as rigid as in France, no controls. The children’s school, closed, has put the means to ensure that this goes well. ”
The other America is rampant poverty in New York State. “Because of the epidemic, a lot of people are finding themselves out of work. There is no social security like in France, no mattress. The lines to collect food get longer.
“You are very bad here if you lose your job.” We are not equal in terms of health either. It’s work or die. “And the specialist knows that” this crisis will cause deaths. Our analysts are amazed to see that the US GDP has lost 20 points in a few weeks. In 2009, it had taken months. ”
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The early skepticism about Covid-19 is over. “People understood the gravity of the situation. My parents were due to come in March. We canceled, I don’t know how they would have been taken care of if there was a problem. And I don’t know how it’s going to turn out, it’s going to depend on the confinement time. The grocery stores are still open, but only one employee needs to be corona-positive to close. And they close one after the other. Supply questions. This worries everyone. “
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