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New York in the Time of Coronavirus 

As in much of the world, life is on hold in America, held hostage by the deadly Coronavirus pandemic. In this fast moving news cycle, the figures keep changing and new developments are taking place all over the world. According to the Center for System Science and Engineering (CSSE) there are now global 597,304 Coronavirus COVID -19 cases with  27364 deaths worldwide.

In the US, COVID-19 is now in all 50 states and the country is on high alert. On March 28, the United States became the country with the largest number of positive cases in the world – 104,661 as compared to Italy with  86,498 and  China with 81,946.  New York is now the epicenter of this Coronavirus pandemic.

Lockdown, self-quarantine, social distancing  –  these were alien words to us all and we certainly hadn’t heard of Coronavirus and COVID -19 till  a few months back.  These are the words of our new reality as the world faces the horrific threat of a new disease and a seemingly unconquerable new virus which has already claimed thousands of lives across the world.

Social distancing, self-quarantines and shut-downs are the order of the day. Ravi Bhalla, the Indian Mayor of Hoboken in New Jersey was one of the first to close down restaurants and bars in his town, even though it was an unpopular move.: “The time is now to enact proactive policies that will help save lives in the long run. We’ve asked families with children to be a part of social distancing by closing our schools. We must all now do our part.”

 

Since then, Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York has also closed down New York State with schools, restaurants and bars shut down. He engineered a coalition with three neighboring states, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. “We are doing everything we can as states to reduce density and contain the spread of the virus,” Governor Cuomo said.”It is critical that we remain on the same page as our neighboring states, and so far we are the only region in the country partnering to create uniform, regional density reduction policies that prevent ‘state shopping.’”

As of now, after a first few days of uncertainty, stress and confusion, decisive action is being taken in various states with the federal, state and local governments stepping in.

As CNN noted, The Senate on Wednesday approved a historic, $2 trillion stimulus package to provide a jolt to an economy reeling from the coronavirus pandemic, capping days of intense negotiations that produced one of the most expensive and far-reaching measures Congress has ever considered. In a remarkable sign of overwhelming bipartisan support for the legislation, the vote was unanimous at 96-0

So how is everyone coping in the Big Apple? New York City is a city on hold, life interrupted. The feisty city which never sleeps is almost a ghost town – the lights are out on Broadway, the museums are shut and the glittering restaurants and bars are shuttered, open only for delivery or take-out.

While families have to worry about work issues, many are also sandwiched between young children at home, or college returned young adults – and elderly parents whose health may be compromised.

Indeed, there’s a lot of stress for families, especially those with older parents who may be more susceptible to Coronavirus, or are in nursing homes which have been quarantined so family members cannot visit them in person. Avani Patel’s mother is quarantined in the nursing home and she can only FaceTime her once a week.  She says: “I miss her a lot. She has no clue what’s going on. The elderly are more in need of their family members and I am in fear every day for her safety. I have been dreaming about her for the last four days and I see her smile.” To cope, Patel is meditating, cooking, painting in her studio and going for long walks.

Indu Jaiswal who is Director of Nutrition at a rehabilitation and healthcare facility says stringent rules are in place with no visitors for the patients and families can only connect via phone calls or FaceTime. For health professionals life must go on and there are many Indian physicians, nurses and other health professionals as well as first responders who are right in the midst of battling the crisis.

New York during the Coronavirus  shutdown

In the past few weeks with the arrival of Coronavirus, life shut down in New York City. It’s hard to believe that as the crisis developed, it was Asia Week in New York – usually a robust celebration of Asian art with international dealers, art collectors and curators congregating across the city, presenting ancient through contemporary works of art from China, India, Southeast Asia, the Himalayas, Japan and Korea. This major event was caught right in the middle as all public spaces closed down. Adapting to the ‘new normal’ during the crisis, many events have shifted to the digital world. The auction houses postponed their upcoming auctions. Some enterprising galleries have taken their shows online, as have museums.

As the American economy has shut down, many Indian-Americans have also been caught in the mayhem. While the meltdown on Wall Street has hurt many affluent people, both the entrepreneurs and blue-collar workers have been shell-shocked by the closings of restaurants and small businesses.

Gaurav Anand who owns Moti Mahal Deluxe, Bhatti Grill and Awadh in New York is currently offering takeout and delivery, hoping to sustain the few jobs for the hardworking chefs and delivery workers who have nowhere else to turn. As he says, “This crisis is going to have a huge impact on the hospitality and wedding industry and we are hoping the government also bails us out, along with the banks.”

Chintan Pandya, the award-winning chef and Roni Mazumdar, the owner of Adda, Rahi and Masalawala, are in a similar predicament, “We already have let go of our management salaries and made significant cuts in all areas, but it all seems to be a drop in the bucket given the scale of the challenge,” says Mazumdar.

“ Our workers are the engine of not just our restaurants, but the New York dining scene. Everything that we are today is due to their passion and grit.” The solution, till help comes in from the city and state, is a GoFundMe Support page which has already brought in $11,241 of a $300,000 goal from friends and clients.

Indian-Americans have been in the forefront of this crisis with the many doctors, researchers, nurses and other health professionals playing a leading role in the city’s hospitals. We also see Seema Verma, President Trump’s Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services with him in his daily briefings from the White House; we see Dr. Sanjay Gupta on CNN breaking down all the medical news for anxious viewers: former US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy has also appeared on several networks explaining the intricacies of COVID-19.

“There are hundreds of India-American and South Asian journalists working behind the camera and behind the scenes to keep America informed at this time,” says Sree Sreenivasan, co-founder of SAJA and Marshall Loeb Visiting Professor of Digital Innovation at Stony Brook University. “I am honored to play a small role via my daily COVID -19 calls on Twitter and Facebook ( http://bit.ly/sreecovid19call ) as I try to get and give useful info from around the world.”

He adds, “No discussion of the crisis would be complete without saluting every desi nurse, orderly, administrator and doctor in the healthcare system whose enormous sacrifice every day is stunning to behold – as of countless desi police officers and other first responders.”

(This article was first published in my weekly column ‘India in America’ in CNBCTV18.com)