“Paranoia was total”: traumatized by the Covid, New York seeks new life

Devastated by the Covid-19 which left nearly 25,000 dead there, the American megalopolis is facing the most important crisis in its history.

Normally, the marbled floor of Grand Central, New York’s historic train station, sees 750,000 people pass by every day. But, in these first summer days, only a few shadows still dare to move during rush hour. The few open newsstands carry magazines dated March, and chocolate shops still have Easter bunnies on display. New York fell asleep on March 15 with lockdown, and the city that ordinarily never sleeps is just starting to wake up. “The last few months have been surreal, every day feels like a science fiction movie,” observes Guillaume Schwab, manager of an upscale furniture store on Madison Avenue.

Every morning, this 43-year-old Frenchman strolled through the wooded alleys of Central Park, among the skyscrapers. Ideal for taking the temperature of the megalopolis. “The paranoia was total, the fear of being infected was such that people no longer dared to look at each other in the street, says Guillaume. It was as if the haze that hangs over New York was a cloud of Covid-19. ” On June 22, the largest city in the United States began phase 2 of its deconfinement: it is now possible to go to the office – but not to have a meal inside a restaurant. With nearly 25,000 dead from Covid-19, New York is traumatized.