Almost everyone in New York now wears a mask. Bild: Getty Images North America / Cindy Ord
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The painful way back to normal life: This is how New York is fighting its way out of the crisis
The corona virus has claimed around 20,000 lives in the city of New York. A loosening of the lockdown is possible from June at the earliest. And normality will remain a foreign concept for a long time to come.
New York was a city full of life. “The City that doesn’t sleep” is the title of the song “New York, New York”, which was immortalized by Frank Sinatra’s version. A tough city that could devour and crush you, but also charge you with energy. Always fascinating and inspiring, and certainly never boring.
The past tense is necessary because since Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York State, enacted the lockdown on March 20, the city has been standing still. The streets in Manhattan, which are otherwise permanently overcrowded during the day, seem empty. The Broadway theaters had to close for the first time in their history and the subway had to stop operating 24 hours a day.
Governor Andrew Cuomo wears face masks at a press conference. Image: XinHua
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The coronavirus has hit no region of the United States as hard as New York, a city that has gone through a lot over the past few decades. By the 1970s she was all but broke, dirty, and ravaged by crime and drugs. The rebirth followed in the 90s before September 11, 2001 struck her with a stab in the heart. The 2008 financial crisis followed.
But nothing can be compared with Corona. New York is Ground Zero again, only much more violent than 19 years ago. The current balance: around 200,000 cases tested positive and at least 20,000 deaths. The number of unreported cases is likely to be higher in both cases. At times the city had to rent refrigerated trucks to accommodate all of the bodies. A hospital was built in Central Park.
“People have become more careful”
“It was particularly bad over Easter, when we had around 800 deaths a day. Now there are fewer than 200,” reports Barbara Leifer. At the end of March watson had spoke to the singer and conductor for the first timewho directs the Diplomatic Choir of Berlin and actually only wanted to travel to the USA briefly, but has been stuck in her apartment in Midtown West since the lockdown.
At the time, Leifer looked nervous, sometimes scared. Some people “didn’t care at all about being asked to protect themselves and others, be it in the store or on the street,” she complained in a Skype conversation. The general situation in New York has not changed since then, but precisely this point has improved significantly: “People have become more cautious.”
They now followed the rules, according to Leifer: “Everyone is wearing a mask now.” Without it you are not allowed to go into the shops anyway, and you must wear a mask in her apartment block. The fact that the police consistently enforces social distancing also contributes to this. Nevertheless, this behavior of the often unruly New Yorkers is remarkable.
It seems to be paying off. The situation has eased in the city’s clinics. In the worst phase of the crisis, the situation there was untenable. In the absence of equipment, doctors and nurses had to use the same mask for days. Many got infected. “Now the clinics are no longer full”, sagt Barbara Leifer.
An improvised hospital in New York Image: ZUMA Wire / John Marshall Mantel
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For the time being, the city can only dream of normalcy. Five of the ten regions of New York state will be allowed to start easing on Friday. These are rural areas in the north. Meet you all seven requirements formulated by Governor Cuomo, including a clearly declining infection curve and sufficient capacity for tests and tracing of contacts from infected people.
The city of New York only meets four criteria. Despite the relaxation in the hospitals, there are still too few free beds in the intensive care units. Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Monday that the first easing would take place probably not be available until Juneand only if the Covid-19 indicators continued to point in the right direction. It will also still be necessary to wear a mask.
This booth will be giving out free food to New Yorkers. Bild: NurPhoto / John Nacion
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“Cultural life is completely dead”
Even in this case, the metropolis is likely to remain in slow-motion mode for months. Broadway should not be played again until September at the earliest, if at all. The New York Philharmonic Orchestra and the Metropolitan Opera are selling tickets for the new season, but there are rumors that normal performance is not planned until autumn 2021.
“Cultural life is completely dead”, says Barbara Leifer, who is well connected as a musician in the scene. She knows how to keep herself busy: “I do gymnastics and music and keep in touch with the family.” She produced a video in which she conducts her Berlin choir from a distance. And she volunteers in her block of flats twice a week.
An easing from June is inevitable, she says. But she wants to be careful herself: “I don’t go to the restaurant, I wouldn’t feel comfortable there.” Because the staff is dependent on every day’s earnings and every tip and therefore goes to work sick. Barbara Leifer knows what she’s talking about. At a young age she worked in the restaurant business herself.
New York City will fight its way back to life. You can’t imagine anything else. But the road to get there will be long, hard and painful.
