'No corpses and mobile morgues': New York during an epidemic through the eyes of a Russian-speaking immigrant

An emigrant from Russia is convinced that in the absence of severe symptoms, it is better to lie back at home, and call 911 only in an emergency. He himself was probably ill, but there were no tests in the hospital to check. This is stated https://www.izakayasushilounge.com portal 74.en.

“It's not that bad.”

Andrey moved to America from Chelyabinsk. Today he lives in Manhattan and works as an analyst at an investment company. He suspects that he himself had been ill with COVID-19, judging by the symptoms that he had. But since there were no tests in the hospital at that time, it is probably not known whether this is so.

Today in New York there is no ban on walking, as well as penalties for violation of quarantine. Americans without panic and excessive dramatic attitude towards the emergency regime, he said.

Until quarantine was introduced, Andrei went to work in the office. Now he is working from home.

The Russian believes that the situation is not as dire as it is shown on TV. “The streets of Manhattan are truly associated with the desert. There is actually a military hospital in Central Park. But there are no corpses or mobile mortuaries, ”he assures. And he added that on the streets there are the same people who were lying before - the homeless. “They tried to help them, but they are still there,” the Russian explained.

Empty city

New York suffered more than other cities in the United States and even the world. “The city is empty. Everyone prefers to follow the recommended self-isolation regime. The local population is not prone to panic. Depressive moods are present only because many are unemployed. The entire service sector has closed, and this is an impressive number of people, ”said a New Yorker.

The regime of forced self-isolation in the city is not introduced. People can go outside without presenting a special permit to the police officer when they go to the store. Fines for this are also not provided.

The only problem is that there is simply nothing to do on the street. After all, all establishments in the city are closed. Only those who are involved in vital spheres - medicine, transport, police and supermarkets - work. “Grocery and alcohol shops, tobacco shops have been opened. A small percentage of the population is involved in these areas. Many companies voluntarily switched to remote operation long before the start of the emergency situation, ”he said.

The organization in which the Russian works specializes in trading on the stock exchange. Therefore, he and his staff do not need to be present in the office. “We were painlessly transferred online,” he added.

"States missed the start of the epidemic"

Measures in the state of New York, as in other states, according to Andrew, were taken rather slowly. Thus, the states missed the start of the epidemic, he said.

“The general quarantine was introduced on March 17. A week earlier, people themselves stopped going to their offices, many companies closed without unnecessary requests, ”said Andrey. But blaming anyone is pointless, he added.

Meanwhile, the government is monitoring new jobless claims that are growing. “Those in need were paid a one-time aid in the amount of $ 1200. For America, this is the amount you can live on for a couple of weeks. Tax payments were postponed until July. The banks, which are regulated by the authorities, do not charge interest for delinquencies on loans, ”said the Russian.

“I myself had a coronavirus”

“I myself have had a coronavirus, judging by all the descriptions of the symptoms. In mid-February, I felt unwell - I had a severe cough, ”Andrei said.

At first he thought it was pneumonia. So I called 911 and called an ambulance. I was taken to the hospital. There were no tests yet. Doctors could only take x-rays. After the examination, I was told that it was not pneumonia, but a viral disease, ”he recalls. - I got off easy. Although the light hit was very strong. Then I coughed for another month. "

However, the financial director of the company where Andrei works is not lucky. A 56-year-old man died from coronavirus. Employees of the company received official notification of the tragedy by sending them to corporate mail.

Nevertheless, Andrey is convinced: in the absence of severe symptoms, it is better to lie back at home, and call 911 only in an emergency. “It is difficult for doctors to provide assistance to the population, because there is no medicine. The only thing they can do is to put a person with difficulty breathing on a ventilator and watch, ”continues Andrey. - At a certain moment, there were big problems with that too. There were not enough fans. Now the question of whether the equipment is used and configured correctly is being discussed. Statistics show that patients under mechanical ventilation only survive in 20% of cases. ”

On the subject: How New York became the center of the COVID-19 global pandemic

Medicine in the USA

It’s impossible to call a doctor in the USA; this practice exists only in Russia.

“In the USA, you can go to a regular doctor or to an emergency room. But doctors don't go home. In the end, you can call 911 for emergency help. The best thing now if you feel unwell is not to go to the hospital, where the infection is walking, but to be treated at home, ”said the New Yorker.

At the same time, medicine in America is stronger than in Russia. However, there is a problem with the availability of medical care. “I mean the high cost. As for the death rate in New York, I will add that there is a relatively low mortality rate. In terms of age, New York is very young. And young people die less often, - he noted. - This virus kills mainly elderly patients and mostly men. Such data is available on the Internet in open sources - Worldometers.info. There are more women in New York. "

Products in stores

In the early days of isolation, food shortages in America, as well as in the rest of the world, were present. “The alarmists bought not only food, but also hygiene products with toilet paper. Store shelves were empty for a while. Nowadays, supermarkets have almost all products. The assortment is growing rapidly, ”the Russian noted.

The situation with the assortment of meat became somewhat worse.

At the same time, there is no speculation on prices. But there are queues. “The largest chain of stores Whole Foods has introduced a limit on the number of visitors who can be in the premises at the same time. Inside, buyers are launched in small groups. There are huge queues at the entrance, ”he said, adding that there are no queues in small shops.

"They all get sick"

Doctors, meanwhile, voiced a pessimistic forecast, according to which everyone will get sick. The quarantine is intended only to bring down the peak of incidence and ensure that the whole country does not fall down at once.

It is difficult to answer the question whether the United States has reached the peak of infection or not. As the number of cases grows. Although the real numbers are unknown. “Is the number of cases growing objectively or not - how to count? It is equal to the number of tests done. It makes sense to count the dead. There are a lot of them in America, ”the author notes.

Rumor has it that an army was sent to New York to dig the graves of coronavirus victims. However, they are based on a real fact: they really sent military men here who help with the funeral, as local services can’t cope.

“Most likely, sooner or later, to one degree or another, we will all get sick. Many even have no symptoms. The point of quarantine is to give rest to doctors, otherwise hospitals will choke on patients, ”the source summed up.