Coronavirus: America's Reckoning

this is a moment that is going to change this nation this is a character building moment 9/11 was nothing compared to this and people come in they intubate me and they die the cycle repeats we are tough in new york we are tough you have to be tough Tough, this place makes you tough, we're going to get through this and America will be the one to blame for it. Normally, a manic mass of people is now almost completely devoid of them. This is a city that many of us feel like we know never sleeps. and now look at it one more time, it's ground zero, it's going to be weeks and weeks and weeks, it's going to be a long day and it's going to be a hard day and it's going to be an ugly day and it's going to be a sad day this is a rescue mission where you're in the mission is to save lives Elmhurst Hospital in Queens the site of an apocalyptic wave in one of the poorest neighborhoods in New York long and somber lines of patients waiting to be examined a virus already out of control and a country, the most powerful in the world, overwhelmed .

The United States went from just 15 corona virus cases in the last week of February to having the highest death toll in the world, now tens of thousands of us watched the disaster unfold on the front lines. It was a journey that began in New Rochelle, a New York suburb, where a synagogue was at the center of a sinister outbreak, the National Guard deployed a containment zone in place, but that didn't stop spring breakers from flooding weeks later. Florida beaches, now the numbers are terrifying. of the hungry who fill our screens millions without work and in search of food the specter of a Great Depression of the 21st century there is no magic solution there is no vaccine or magic therapy they are just behaviors each of our behaviors is translating into something that changes the course of this viral pandemic in the next few days to a week or so we will continue to see things escalate next week it will be our Pearl Harbor moment it will be our 9/11 moment it will be the most difficult moment for many Americans in their entire lives, how quickly and raw thing it was to be Congress: seeing a field hospital in Central Park, a tourist spot now called a hot zone.

At first the hospitals couldn't find enough space for the sick, the city still can. I don't find him among the dead, he has helped the Bible, I kid you not, the rest of three years, he answers, we are on duty with Captain AJ Briones in Yonkers, he is a paramedic who works seven days a week and it is without stop, everyone calls us frontline, but we are here. We're really last, so money, someone who's really sick, you have to get there as fast as you can, but you also want to be safe. What we talked about is that we are not in one, there is not one, two, three, Larry.

Temple AJ's team is receiving three times the usual number of calls due to the

coronavirus

these days. They are the first and sometimes the only emergency responders who go to the homes of people struggling to breathe. We have a real idea of ​​how much pressure. The work that these paramedics often have to do alone is at risk. There is a good chance that - to become exposed to covert lighting in New York City we enter Brooklyn's largest hospital, an emergency room that has been converted into a war zone where there is a constant crush of 19 covert victims, so we are now in the critical care area of ​​the emergency department.

Everyone here today is here because of respiratory issues, often coded almost uniformly. We sing such a big increase in day to day in a number. of patients who present in critical condition who really require all the resources we have to give them to help them, doctor eight and Dikmen says that normally there are seventeen beds in this ward at the Maimonides Medical Center, today there are 32 patients and the numbers are increasing. Quickly, every hour, this pandemic demands more people, more space and more personnel willing to face many more dangers, which is why we have opened new ICUs, new intensive care units, we have opened new medical units to accommodate this increased patient demand. . that they are coming in so sick, the entire hospital is now effectively an intensive care unit and they are caring for all types of people in this ethnically diverse district.

There is an intense, demanding and desperate atmosphere here, the patients keep coming and it's not just the old people it's also the young ones and they're always fighting, it's a daunting new frontier for doctors, even the most experienced ones, we're obviously single, a large number of critically ill patients, yes, I have seen some of the articles that I have seen in my entire career, not only do they have

coronavirus

but they also have diabetes that is out of control, it is particularly difficult and we are learning how to do it. It's a steep learning curve and an often brutal experience for those with existing health problems, really the main effect.

What we are seeing is that it has a significant effect by affecting the ability of the lungs to provide the oxygen that the body needs and then it spreads, affects the heart, affects the kidney, ultimately, unfortunately, often the Sable times They are taking the biggest toll during this entire crisis. There has been a shortage of personal protective equipment. Maimonides was well prepared, but throughout the city supplies are on a tightrope worried about the days to come. I think we're in for a significant period where we're going to see a lot of very, very sick patients and this is going to put a strain on the system.

We want to make sure that we have enough supplies, including PPE for staff, including ventilators, high flow oxygen devices, right now we have enough supplies, but that's something we're monitoring very, very closely, your work starts on the streets. triage tents in the front for their lives, refrigerated trucks in the back to transport the dead, but this is where the brave doctors and nurses worked every minute risking their lives so that others can avoid that fate. The United States imposed travel restrictions on China fairly quickly and has now tested more. people to covert 19 than any other country, but that aggressive screening was not done early enough regulatory hurdles technical glitches and leadership failures meant it spread undetected for weeks Meanwhile, President Trump moved from skepticism to optimism and made sound the alarm a person arriving from China and we have it under control, everything will be fine, it's like the flu because people die from the flu when you have 15 people and the 15 in a couple of days will be reduced to almost zero, that's pretty good.

The work we have done will disappear one day it will disappear. This is a pandemic. I felt like it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic, but these are going to be a very painful, very, very painful two weeks, which we dealt with well. In all the places we didn't visit, we didn't miss a trick, but could I have seen what was coming? Eric Lipton and a team of New York Times journalists said health officials concluded it was time to move to social distancing in the third quarter. week of february, but that recommendation was not made directly to mr.

Trump then there was a consensus among medical advisors that the time had come to flip the switch and go to what is called mitigation, meaning that social distancing, closing schools, closing businesses that were intentionally causing economic damage to the United States was just something Trump didn't really want to do, but the time had come, in the third week of February, to make that difficult decision because you would potentially save a million lives if you did it and Trump wasn't willing to do it until March 16th. and that was basically a week or two late for places like New York Michigan Massachusetts New Jersey Connecticut Louisiana places where there are more deaths than necessary if the United States had changed mitigation sooner yes, global small group yes, if you just give Call me to let me know when will you come because we are a little busy and I want to make sure there is someone here to sit down and talk to you properly.

Jerrod Neufeld Funeral Home was at the center of managing the increasing number of deaths and There is still demand, unfortunately there is a lot of debt at the same time, so we are trying to manage services for all families appropriately, whatever they want , and many families are well at the same time. so we're trying to work around the schedules, trying to keep track of who knows what day, what families have to go and from there, fortunately, people are dying in large numbers and because they live in this area and I'm The only funeral home left in this area come to see me so I'm trying to accommodate them the best I can and every day, yeah, I mean, we left the office last night and I think we had about 12 services scheduled and shortly after After leaving the office, in two hours, I had three more services and then this morning, as soon as we got there, we did three or four more services, so that's what's happening and it's only twelve o'clock.

Robert Lee, the gay man, just lost his grandmother Anna his family was suddenly deprived of the opportunity to grieve together my grandmother died alone those hard times my grandmother she died alone we couldn't even say goodbye and I understand that that's part of the healing process death but she was zero, she was in the hospital she was meters away we couldn't even see how we couldn't touch each other to talk to her we couldn't even give her that morale boost to say hey you know you're going to get out of this we need you Get out of this, it's too late, there was nothing you would say to those people who don't believe that the coronavirus is a serious threat if you don't believe it is a serious threat.

Here I am, I lost my grandmother and I'm in trouble for less than a week, the Roberts family had just celebrated her 80th birthday, they call her the glue now they are infected too, she was exposed to the virus, they too became the virus and half of our family member is in quarantine right now. because they tested positive with collective mourning prohibited and traditional rituals eliminated the death is marked by a tour of the Crematorium they don't really allow anyone in the cemeteries to be eliminated for the most part two people stayed in their cars and simply watched the burial from the grave Joe negotiates at the gates carrying candles for families who can't, sometimes when it's so brief it almost leaves them still feeling empty, like they know what's happening, they don't have enough time to process it, it's heartbreaking, it's really sad .

In these alien times there is no group goodbye, it is shortly after dawn and we witness how large and grim the scale of the problem is in this body truck. This is Hart Island, where coronavirus victims are among those being temporarily buried en masse. graves not claimed by a family member or who cannot afford a private funeral normally placed here 25 coffins a week now almost that many every day in the city center there are makeshift morgues everywhere some places are being left without body bags the authorities recognize that the death toll is likely higher than the official figures, but no one knows how hard this team at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center is working in a morgue processing and examining the coronavirus dead.

I really admire our colleagues on the front lines who are dealing with the patients who come to Cova Dean, they are triaging them, they are managing them and they are treating them, but I think people also need to realize that there is another front in this war and that It is the front with the dead, it is not just the front Volume of cases that is a challenge. They are also trying to find a new way to communicate with family members. It's always hard work with families right now, but even more so now that you know they can't see their relatives. loved ones in their last moments.

I had to improvise to try to support the bereaved by offering them the opportunity to see those they lost using video calls. This time it was FaceTime, so I first let her see me and explain, you know what? She goes to see asking him if it's okay for her to know, can you see this? you know because we couldn't keep it like we normally do, so you know, we had sheets and there was a body bag and you seeing his face was difficult, it must be very surreal and distressing for a family to have to look at their loved one on FaceTime.

I'm not going to lie, they're great, it was hard, you know, if we could do it. at least one little thing to make this difficult time for them a little easier, that's what we are going to do and no matter how crazy our day is and how much work we have to do, we will do the best we can for our families. We are dealing with their families. Performing many autopsies will be crucial to understanding the virus and ultimately saving lives. Lisa normally takes care of all the administrative matters, but there are so many bodies that she now has to helpmove them all three. "All of us were outside and we collapsed like a box and we just finished, you know, we're exhausted, we're physically exhausted, we were mentally exhausted, they expanded their morgue, others haven't been able to, it's a structure that just was." Built for this level of force across the United States, what we can now see is that certain groups are disproportionately affected in Louisiana. 70% of those who have died are African Americans who make up only 32% of the population in the hurricane-destroyed Lower Ninth Ward.

Katrina, they are preparing for another disaster. Anita's mother, Mary, has fluid in her lungs, but she took her out of the hospital for fear that she might get coronavirus too, so make sure she doesn't die because of me, because another thing is that you know your people die because of it. of that and they alone are alone we want to get out like that you can't have a proper barrier to be honest so we just say we'll stay here with mine and we'll tell all this fair welding okay it's very risky for her and for us also because it's a monster we can't even see it but I know it's here so basically that's why we've been keeping the house bleach clean everything so we can have more time with my mind.

She is 75 years old. How scared are you for your mom? I'm scared to death like she's going to come out and get some fresh air, but I let her get some fresh air because she's still half a year old and she can't stand there and be out there, come get some fresh air and then We are black again. They are likely to suffer from comorbidities – diseases such as obesity and diabetes. They also work in more risky service jobs. These factors have played a very important role in this path. Damn, it's the perfect storm of problems here.

Poverty. Poor access to medical care. And poor health when you speak. People will also tell you that this is a place of large families who live close together and love to hug. That's been a hard thing to shake. The famous Mardi Gras was for city officials that at the end of February a agitated mass of people in the streets two months later, New Orleans had the highest death rate in the United States, but that was long before it was declare a national emergency. This is known after an Easter Sunday service in Baton Rouge. These truths are evident: all men are created equal. and they are endowed with rights from their creator with certain inalienable rights, among them are the freedom of life and the pursuit of happiness and this freedom that I have my governor comes from my god a fierce and uncompromising display of American individualism this morning we had 14 hundred 25 people present came here from 20 different states this morning to worship with us, the reason is that people have deep convictions about going to church, especially on Easter Sunday.

Easter Sunday is the most important Christian holiday of the year because we celebrate our resurrected Savior in all churches. The doors are closed in America, as you know, worshiping God behind a television screen is not the same as worshiping God in person. I tell you don't be a hypocrite, no one who is on that path right now, anyone who is in a retail store like Walmart, like a liquor store, if you go to those places but you don't come to church, both your religions you are a hypocrite, It's hard to understand when you hear stories like this: The Franklins lost four members of their family in just 12 days. one of every two bears was one of the family members, four family members in the same ICU at the same time, first my uncle died, then a few days later and my grandmother died and a few days later my dad died and a few days later after that.

In another pass, you have had to deal with so many losses in such a short time. How are you dealing with all the virus? It's just amazing and what's the hardest thing for me. Some people actually think it doesn't exist and it's not real and we put up with it. because family members buried my husband and his brothers at the same funeral, three coffins in one room and I just want the world to know that this is real. Do you think poverty to some extent in New Orleans and Louisiana has also played a role? a role in which people fear not having enough money to go to the doctor.

I think health conditions play a big part in some cases, but people in New Orleans are very superstitious culturally. People don't like hospitals here, you really have to be. sick to go to our hospital in New Orleans forced him to go especially African American families we have great stigmas about hospitals local author Maurice Ruffin sees a past and present marked by disadvantages why do you think Louisiana is suffering so much? Well, I think they are part of this economic disparity. The South tends to have less money than the northern part of the country. Here in Louisiana in particular, there is this legacy of systemic racism that was born to the President and that means a lot of African Americans in this city in this state do not have good economic opportunities to get education or health care and those things have played out throughout this entire pandemic. .

Homeless people in the city have lost their shelters and soup kitchens, some barely lost. their homes after losing their jobs are now two meters away in the hope of getting food and that hunger that insecurity is everywhere just look at this San Diego and a seemingly endless line of cars waiting for a meal with more than 22 million unemployed desperation eclipses anything In recent history, the food bank that feeds America has seen a 40% increase in demand. A deficit of $1.4 billion is expected. The government has tried to ease the financial pain by sending $1,200 checks to Americans as part of a historic stimulus package.

Early evidence suggests that most of it is being spent on food, there will probably be a tale of two pandemics in America emerging in the coming months, one about those who were scared, disturbed, but thanks to luck, an advantage, They will survive physically, emotionally, financially, there are others, although who will. They will be left with deep scars this crisis will change the course of their lives New Orleans is a city divided between the haves and the have-nots it is now being stalked by a virus once again the poorest people carry the heaviest burden you unlike Some countries in America have no experience with such a difficult public health emergency in a crowded New York City.

Hospitals are so full that they transport patients in groups in a vehicle normally used for mass casualties. What are the most active days back for you? Now vomit nausea, vomit, okay? The United States has a world leader in science, technology and medicine, but it was not prepared for a pandemic, no one really was and has never had to collectively sacrifice in this way. In just one week, the world's superpower was asking nurses to make their own scrubs. and masks inside st. Joseph's Medical Center in Yonkers is still processing it. I always trusted that our government could provide us with what we need.

I'm sorry, you know, and then when you hear the difference between the government and the people who speak on behalf of the government, it doesn't do anything. sense, we need nurses, we need doctors, we need PPE. The United States is not Italy, but it turned out that we were much worse off, so it is definitely something we like to think about and hope that it changes in the future because this is unnecessary and I just said at this point why do you think the United States suffered so much that we were underpaid we were not prepared for this the decisions made by state governors have been critical some moved quickly others did not move at all with some high risk consequences but there are those who still feel the responsibility falls on the president.

I think you need to accept your responsibilities in this and now try to fix it, but don't blame everyone else and all the other people and the other governors and mayors and things like that when it's early. intervention him, I think I could have prevented some of this, you feel like that happened, yeah, sure, I mean, it's an administration, I think like I said, I just didn't have a plan for this, so it's hard when you're going through this. and you're in the middle of this and there's really no support coming from anywhere except you know this local community.

Do you have chest pain? Yeah, okay, so they want to make sure everything in your lungs is okay, so this is a special kind of movie. that we are ordering to see it well, what is clear within some Josef is the inherent goodness of this country, the altruism and heroism of its people, however politically divided they may be, what are the things that stick most in your mind? Mind, I guess. stories stories from a nurse who said yesterday I had a day off, tears just came to my eyes and here she is back to work during the day, families separated from her dying loved ones.

Just for me, that is inconceivable, I know that unfortunately there will be a "Many people who do not survive, at least 75% of the people who use respirators do not come out of this team, they have seen things that they could not train in their hearts or minds, for how much death you have personally come from us." I have never seen anything like it personally and in a 12 hour shift I declared six people dead just by myself and that didn't include the other doctors who also had deaths, a staggering number, a staggering number, I have never had anything like it in my twenties. plus a career year, the psychological impact on medical staff will likely be felt and studied for years to come.

The hardest times are when you feel like you've stretched yourself so thin that you feel like there's no way you can care for the patients. that are here and the way that you're trained to do it, that's really the hardest part because all of us here, I mean, we went to school, we learned all the things that you're supposed to do on a regular basis and when the ability It's overloaded and you just can't, you can't make those things happen, it really weighs on you and you know that there are people who are going through very difficult times and possibly their last moments on this earth and you just want to be able to be there with them and take them by storm. hand and there is no way this was new to everyone, dislocating, but the wilderness will reshape the country and many families, there are so many stories of loss and isolation.

They just told me that they had a wife and husband, sister and brother, they came together, they had to be separated and they all died alone and yet some states are already starting to reopen the fact is that the United States is a decentralized country the protests of Defenders of individual liberties in Texas, Michigan and Minnesota show that people are eager to return to normal life, others want to stop what Mr. Trump has had to wrestle with the fact that the choice is his when someone is the president of the United States, the authority is total and so it has to be what are you going to grant me what the Constitution gave me before you were born? ?

It's called the Tenth Amendment. I didn't need the President of the United States to tell me that I'm a governor. I think the states are now much more tired of relying on the federal government and they formed the western states and the west coast in the Northeast has formed their own consortiums that are going to make decisions together about when to reopen and I think they have learned a lesson. about how to trust the leadership of the White House and that they are going to try to do that in a big way. on their own and it really hardly matters what Trump is going to say.

The United States was challenged by a complex enemy that is undeterred by its borders and military might. It did not mobilize a global response, if anyone else's is expected. of money or power protects the United States like so many other nations, it was caught off guard, which seems different here, although the extremes of widespread inequality and politics, lives have been broken, but that trauma has also brought a unity of purpose , we have seen an abundance of courage, kindness and compassion, there was no single light to guide the world forward. Drastic draconian action is not easy in any democracy, it will never be the same.