A man with shopping on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Bild: AP
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Interview
“It feels like the whole country is falling apart”
The singer and conductor Barbara Leifer is stuck in her apartment in Manhattan. In the interview, she talks about the standstill due to the corona virus and the excessive demands in the New York hospitals.
A simple question to start with: How are you?
Barbara Leifer: I am fine, I have no symptoms, but I am practically a prisoner in my apartment. I go out when I need to get something, but that’s limited to groceries, medicines and other things you can get in pharmacies.
How is it in New York?
The city is as if swept empty. I live two blocks from Times Square. Otherwise life pulsates there. Nothing is going on now. Even the traffic is gone. Otherwise, the cars are permanently stuck in traffic on 9th Avenue. Now the streets are completely empty even at rush hour. The vendors selling vegetables and fruits on the street are still there, but they are all wearing masks. I don’t know where they got it from. Actually, masks are no longer available. That’s why you see people on the street with their scarf pulled over their faces. Surgical gloves are also no longer available. That’s why a lot of people wear the big gloves that are normally used to wash dishes.
So New Yorkers are very disciplined?
You cant say it like that. Some do not care at all about the request to protect themselves and others, be it in the store or on the street. I even experience such things in my own family. On the other hand, many people are very scared. The hospitals in New York are overrun.
That sounds dramatic.
It’s a very stressful situation. Many people in New York live very isolated. Usually in Manhattan you can go out and do something in the middle of the night. Now they are afraid to leave their homes. These are usually very small. When you live with your family it can be very difficult. Many are nervous and stressed.
In a way, New York is Ground Zero again.
I agree. It feels like a terrorist attack, only you don’t know where the terrorism is coming from and who it will hit. It’s a very strange feeling. At the same time, people talk to each other a lot more. You make comparisons with 9/11, but also with Hurricane Sandy in autumn 2012. Even then, the streets were empty, which felt bizarre, almost surreal. Now that’s the case every day. Back then you could spend time with family. Now you feel very isolated when you don’t have a family. Domestic violence is another problem. It will increase.
What can you do about it?
People still go to the parks. You’re only supposed to get out when you need to, but sometimes you just have to get out for some fresh air. I’m lucky enough to have a terrace with a nice view of the city.
Andrew Cuomo exaggerates to help New York. Bild: AP
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Nobody knows when that will stop. That probably makes it worse.
Yes, and then there is this guy who tries to make us believe it will all be over in two weeks. The Trump administration is fooling people into thinking everything is fine. Unfortunately, many believe that. It is downright a political question whether or not to comply with the protective measures. At the same time, the humor is blooming, a lot of people send me funny things about Trump. I think that’s good.
Governor Andrew Cuomo will praised for its crisis management, What do you make of it?
He appears on television every day. I can hardly hear him anymore (laughs). He exaggerates and scares people by giving higher numbers of cases than actually exist.
What is he doing with it?
It’s an outcry. He wants his state to get help. That’s not bad. He takes care of New York and is ready to inflate the number of ventilators needed so that he can get at least some. Donald Trump only promised him 400, and we have more than 26,000 people who tested positive. Cuomo also seems to enjoy his role. He takes responsibility, and that’s what people in New York State like.
Many New Yorkers try to flee the city. How is that received?
Not very good, and not just in town. They complain about it in Florida. Donald Trump has therefore threatened to quarantine the city so that no one comes out. New York is considered the epicenter of the pandemic. Lots of people get sick in a small space.
Can you give examples?
A doctor told me about a patient who was showing symptoms. It was a young, strong man. He went to the hospital, where he was told that he had symptoms but not yet a high fever. He should go home and quarantine. You only test emergencies. This is by no means the only case.
People queue outside the Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens for a Covid-19 test. Bild: AP
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How can this happen?
The hospitals are simply overwhelmed. Only those who have a pre-existing condition can enter. And who even wants to go to a hospital under such circumstances? In the end, you are infected by the nursing staff. Some say to themselves: If I’m not sick now, I’ll be there. You know the pictures from Italy.
What is your daily life like?
I am alone in my apartment, but speak to my mother regularly. She’s in a Kansas City retirement home. There, the patients, who are at the end of their lives and often terribly alone, are forced to stay in their rooms. The only way to talk to others is through meals, so no one skips them. They sit at the table, even if they don’t eat anything, just to have contact with other people. Otherwise, they will only have contact with their caregivers, who could also transmit the coronavirus to them. But the homes are so afraid of becoming an epidemic that they isolate the inmates.
How do you stand that?
It’s very sad. My mother feels miserable. My sister recently had colon cancer surgery. Just a week later it would have been canceled. Such an operation is not considered essential, incredible, but true! Any kind of medical care or dental treatment has been stopped because of the coronavirus. I myself would have had some doctor appointments that were canceled. It feels like the whole country is falling apart.
What is it like when you have to leave the apartment?
On my last visit to Kansas City, I was given a mask that I wear, as well as gloves. I am only allowed to use the elevator if there are no more than two people in it, and I live on the 32nd floor. The shops are not overcrowded, but neither are they empty. Everyone goes there when they want to get out. When I get home, I turn gymnastics into a ridiculous video on YouTube. Fortunately, as a musician, I have a Steinway piano and can work. And of course I watch news channels like CNN and find out more.
How is your job doing?
All rehearsals at my choir in Berlin have been canceled. The Metropolitan Opera has canceled its season. The musicians are unemployed and receive no wages. All events in the city are canceled. It’s very hard for the artists, they have no more work. Some try to get attention on YouTube. They wash their hands for 20 seconds and sing an aria during this time. There is a lot of crazy, but also creative.
President Trump’s medical advisor Anthony Fauci has issued a dire forecast for the United States. He reckons with 200,000 dead.
The deaths will be astronomical. However, some also recover from the disease. You don’t know how it happens. My cousin recently retired as a pathologist. He treats his whole family with the malaria drug chloroquine. It’s been going on for two or three weeks. God knows if that will turn out well! In Arizona a man tried something similar with himself and his wife. He died instantly.
Where do you see the biggest problem?
Not enough testing is done in the US. Nobody knows if he or she has the virus. I could have it and give it to someone else without knowing it. Even if I get sick, I won’t get a test. I worry about people who live with others. Anyone who goes out and runs urgent errands can experience all sorts of things, such as bumping into someone in the store. This happened to me recently! God forbid if anything happened to someone I would be responsible.
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