What is happening in New York: quarantine life in the city through the eyes of four Russian-speaking immigrants

Four Ukrainians living at the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic talked about what is happening in New York today. This publication writes "New Time".

Over the past week, the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic has shifted from Spain and Italy to the business heart of America - New York. Thanks to its largest city, America has become the leader in the number of infected in the world. Today, the number of infected Americans is close to 400 thousand, and more than 10 thousand have died.

Despite this, local authorities decided not to impose strict quarantine here. Instead, the penalty for non-observance of social distance was doubled; it grew to $ 1000.

Four Ukrainians living in New York for a long time talked about how the city adapts to life in a new dimension.

Ilya Ostrovsky

34 years old, pharmacist

Born in Cherkasy. Stay in the USA: 25 years

“The first thing you need to know about the pandemic in New York is that what is being transmitted and what is happening are two different things,” Ilya notes. - In fact, many hospitals are not completely full. Nevertheless, after the news releases, people continue to run to the stores to buy whatever they really don't need. "

There is no strict quarantine in New York. “Yes, large groups of people are threatened with fines, but they rarely gather here anyway. Everyone scattered to their homes, Manhattan is empty, visits were replaced by Facetime (video calling service - Ed.). Restaurants work only by order, and couriers leave everything under the door in order to avoid direct contact, ”said the Ukrainian. He added that this very contact New Yorkers "are afraid of like plague, bypassing each other on the street on the tenth road."

When the quarantine was announced, he went to his favorite restaurant to "enjoy the last day of freedom." Now, he added, the only way to support your favorite establishments in the city is through donations. “Many establishments are asking to buy food for the future so that they can hold out until the end of the quarantine,” said a New Yorker.

According to the Ukrainian, no one was ready for the epidemic. “We all suspect that at least half of New York is sick with coronavirus. Because everyone goes 24/7 through subways, they live close to each other, life rages in the huge Chinatowns, and no one knows when this whole story with the epidemic actually began, ”he said.

At the same time, only those who are admitted to the hospital are tested. And hospitals, in turn, do not want to admit people without serious symptoms. “For example, not far from me is an area where the poor live, and, naturally, the epidemic covered it quickly and massively. So there really were queues at the local hospital, and some who stood for three to four hours were sent home with the words: “You will stand here for a long time, and if you yourself come and can stand, in the hospital you will most likely be helped will not be able to, ”he said.

Today the advice for everyone is the same: call the family doctor, stay at home, drink paracetamol, and go to the ambulance only in case of breathing difficulties. “But with the payment of medical services and insurance, it is still a complete mess, - said Ilya. - Now everyone is just getting bills from hospitals and trying to beat it off from the insurance company. Because the laws change daily, and now, according to the new rules, insurance companies seem to have to reimburse such expenses. "

As for life in quarantine, then, Ilya noted, little has changed for him. “I am a pharmacist and of course I go to work every day. Which, by the way, I am very glad. Previously, how was it on the same Monday ?! You think, "Oh, back to work." And now you are striving for this, so that you have at least some contact with people, ”he said.

Since there are many elderly people among his clients, most orders are collected by telephone, and physically work only through the window. Ilya added: “And almost immediately we limited the sale of personal protective equipment to one piece in our hands - one mask, one pair of gloves, one jar of antiseptic. As a result, we were the only pharmacy in the area where this product is still available. ”

He believes that it is important to “bring down this panic”. After all, if you sell protective equipment in limited quantities to each individual client, then "it turns out, there is enough."

Vladislav Malyuta

27 years old, hotel manager

Born in Kiev. Stay in the USA: 5 years

Vladislava Malyuta lives in Queens. There, she said, 70% of people wear masks, and some even wear special protective suits. “I listen to my neighbors, friends, people I work with - they all experience the situation in different ways. Some are terribly stressed, others are trying not to take it personally. Others watch films, take courses and read books, ”the girl said.

However, they all have one thing in common - the need to stay at home. After all, New Yorkers are used to working hard and having a good rest. “There is also social life, hobbies and friends. This is New York, here you have to go to that restaurant, look into this bar, go to the show, and then drop in to the opening of the gallery. And then, imagine, all these people were closed at home, - she said. - Many of them do not remember this even at home. And those who are married have not talked to their own wife for more than 15 minutes a day for a long time. "

The new living conditions are causing a "huge psychological shock" among New Yorkers. “For many now going to the store is the event of the year. And before that there was no time for this for weeks. But now everyone began to go for a walk and jog and jog vigorously for three to four hours a day, ”Vladislava noted.

The Ukrainian woman until recently worked at a hotel in the trendy Soho district. “Rooms cost from $ 500 per night, so we were mostly visited by CEOs, actors and producers from Los Angeles, France, Italy and the Scandinavian countries. When the borders were closed, this whole business fell, we gradually began to cut shifts, then they sent us on a paid vacation, and as a result, 100 people were reduced to 12. It was a huge shock, and we still do not understand what will happen next with the hotel industry ”, - she said.

When the quarantine is over, the girl is sure that New Yorkers will immediately run to bars and restaurants to have a drink with friends. “In the meantime, everyone has withdrawn into themselves so much that even on the phone it is impossible to chat for a long time,” she says.

Since Vladislava lives in the same apartment with a neighbor, quarantine has affected their relationship. They have become more respectful of each other's personal space. “Just because we understand: we still do not know how much time will have to be spent one-on-one, which means that we try not to lean on each other,” she explained.

The situation outside the window in different parts of New York is very different. “For example, in Queens (where the largest number of infected people in New York - Ed.) 70% of people walk in masks, and some even in special protective suits. But these are Americans, they go crazy right away for any reason. My Russian-speaking friends are calmer, and our body is more stress-resistant, ”she said.

Vitaliy Desyatnichenko, 28 years old

Hospitality and Entertainment Manager

Born in Kiev. Stay in the USA: 8 years

“Living in New York is like being in the middle of a large anthill. Millions of population, crowds of tourists, work in three shifts, several hundred thousand different establishments, all kinds of entertainment, - said Vitaly. - For me, all this has already become familiar. Two jobs, an active lifestyle, a lot of things to do, responsibility and optimistic plans for the future - this is how I have lived for the last few years. "

Vitaly said that the pandemic in New York began imperceptibly. Back in late February, people started talking about the virus and buying food. Gradually, this topic became more popular, the news began to write massively about empty shelves and counters. “I continued to lead my usual way of life and could not imagine that this story would affect me,” he said.

However, from March 13, when the mayor of the city canceled all public events, everything changed. Since Vitaly works as an event manager, on March 14 he did not go to work. It helped out that he has a second job.

Therefore, he spent his unscheduled day off in long lines at grocery stores and supermarkets. “In one of them there was almost nothing, the second pleased me with a wide range and availability of all the goods I needed. Did I panic? No, honestly. But with the changes in the schedule, it was necessary to make adjustments to the diet and fill the refrigerator, ”he said.

On the subject: Coronavirus spread to New York much earlier than is commonly thought - researchers

Then quarantine began, and all non-vital businesses closed their doors. “I changed my 80-100 hour work week to reading books, watching movies, cooking and endlessly washing dishes. A lot of free time appeared out of nowhere. This is exactly the time that we are so lacking here, but as soon as we received it, and even in such an amount, it turned out to be difficult to figure out how to use it correctly and rationally, ”he said.

Since then, Vitaliy practically does not leave the house, and if he leaves, then in a mask. However, he has not been in the store since the beginning of quarantine.

During the quarantine, he said, the feeling of physical fatigue from hours of working weeks disappeared. There was a desire to "take care of myself, physical, psychological and mental components." “The coronavirus is spreading all over the world, including the United States and New York. But soon it will all end, because there is no beginning without end, and we will return to our usual way of life. Everything will pass and we will become even stronger, ”he is sure.

Nadezhda Marakhova, 38 years old

Financier

Born in Kiev. Stay in the USA: 5,5 years

On March 16, New York companies sent employees to work remotely, Nadezhda said. “My husband's office at that time proposed a 50/50 scheme - half of them work from home, the other comes in person. Already on March 22, the situation has changed. The state governor signed an executive order that all non-core businesses were required to stop working in offices, ”she said.

Her husband's company is an engineering consultant. “For a week they were still on the list of the main ones, which allowed them to continue working. Commercial construction was removed from the list this week, which has frozen projects. Clients began to partially revoke contracts. On March 30, the company announced that it was considering cutting wages by 20-25%, ”Nadezhda said.

She herself owns a hotel for dogs. At the time of the order, she still had a small group of regular customers. However, local services began to impose their restrictions on people's access to homes and it became almost impossible to work.

“We go outside for short walks along the Hudson Waterfront. Along the river are yellow posters for a safe social distance of six feet. Once a week we go for groceries. The nearby organic food store has a limit on the number of people inside, ”she said. There is a queue before entering the store.

Nadezhda goes to the store exclusively in N95 masks. “Now you start jumping away from a person who is not wearing a mask or comes too close. Life has changed, ”she said.

On March 26, CNN reported that the city was preparing for the worst-case scenario and increasing the capacity of the morgues. “I never thought that I would study this information, but in New York there were 900 places for such cases,” Nadezhda said.

Last Friday, she and her husband left for the city. “We looked at the new location for the hospital in the Javitz Exhibition Center and Bellevue Hospital. In the backyard of the hospital, a construction site was set up, where there were eight huge freezer trucks for temporary morgues. The sight, of course, is creepy, ”she said.

The city, she said, was empty. Today, the streets that are usually the most blocked by traffic jams can be reached almost without stopping.

Nadezhda's daily life in quarantine has changed. She now listens to briefings by New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo daily. “Every morning he reports on the situation, describes the models of the crisis development, current problems. Analytics are done to him, including McKinsey and the Bill Gates Foundation, she said. - The day before yesterday, Cuomo announced that his brother, CNN journalist Chris Cuomo, had tested positive for the virus. Brother appeared on video today at a briefing. He talked about his symptoms and the course of the disease. "