Posted on by Brendan Birth

Coronavirus Update From New York City: December 17, 2020

Currently, many of us here in the northeastern region of the United States are in the process of digging out from a major snowstorm. I hope that all of my readers who were hit by the storm are warm and safe.

Everyone in my family is continuing to avoid the coronavirus, but it is getting more and more nervy as zip codes around us are seeing concerning rises in positivity rates. To add insult to injury (in terms of being on edge with COVID) is the fact that my parents in particular have seen a few places in our neighborhood where people are not wearing their masks and practicing social distancing as they should. I know I’m a broken record in saying this, but please wear your mask and practice social distancing! Also, when you wear your mask, wear it over your mouth and your nose, like the person in the photo below.

The person in the photo is me, by the way.

It’s not just my family who’s getting nervous about COVID, either. New York City is also getting nervous, as evidenced by a shutdown of outdoor dining that started last Monday, as well as noises of a more complete shutdown after the holidays (as to why we’re waiting for the holidays to do this if the situation is that serious, I’m not quite sure). The nervousness is understandable–with stories across the country of hospitals being overwhelmed, the fact that hospitalization and ICU rates are on the increase at a time when we don’t have a ton of hospital and ICU beds available to begin with in New York City is a cause for nervousness.[1]

At this time that many hospitals are being stretched thin due to this pandemic, I offer a simple plea: please listen to guidance from your public health officials about holiday gatherings, even if it means staying home. I know, understand, and appreciate that it is tough to not visit family you desperately want to visit–I know that because I desperately want to visit my mom’s parents too. However, a visit to them, even if it were allowed by their senior living community (which it is not), could potentially put them at severe risk because of their age and the condition they are in. Many of us here in the states could put our relatives in similar potential peril if we visited them. As much as we may love our relatives, the best way to love them may be to stay home and minimize the chances of relatives getting the virus.

My warning aside, I do wish everyone a good, healthy, and safe holiday season. Let’s care for each other and love each other at this time by doing all we can to keep each other healthy.

My last post for this calendar year will be on December 28th. That post will function as a combination of a COVID update post and an end-of-year wrap-up post for this blog.

[1] https://projects.thecity.nyc/2020_03_covid-19-tracker/?_ga=2.239467267.1478419328.1608083101-1077310081.1606063751

18 Replies to “Coronavirus Update From New York City: December 17, 2020”

  1. I’m glad you and your family remain safe Brendan. What a mess though. You’d think at the very least that people in NYC who went through such Hell, would be doing whatever it took to prevent an even worse outbreak from happening. I’ve been watching these heartbreaking interviews on the news from restaurant and small business owners who will be facing going out of business. I don’t understand why people can’t realize that if they just followed the CDC guidelines maybe, just maybe, things wouldn’t be as bad as they are…AGAIN. But then, look who we have leading the country. I firmly believe that if we had anyone sane as president, Republican or Democrat, we wouldn’t have had as many deaths, and we wouldn’t be spiraling out of control…AGAIN! Did you see the video of congressman-elect Bob Good from Virginia, addressing Trump supporters last weekend in Washington? He congratulated them on not wearing masks and reassured him that Covid-19 isn’t a pandemic, it’s just a virus. Over 300,000 dead countless others hospitalized, and God knows how many survivors will have permanent health issues because of getting the virus. I’m sorry for the rant, but I can’t tell you how furious I am. I’ve been putting off addressing this on my blog because I’ve been trying to keep things a little lighter over the holidays, I’m reaching the point where it’s either vent, or break furniture!😡 Anyway, stay safe and Ihope you and your family can enjoy the holidays.🤗

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Hi Kim. I think most people around NYC are actually being responsible, and the people who are irresponsible are in the minority. But the irresponsibility seems to be in clusters sometimes (like that one AutoZone in our neighborhood, or certain pockets of Staten Island in New York City). And where there are those pockets of irresponsibility, it’s bad.

      I definitely agree with you though that if we had a president who listened to facts, we’d be in a better situation. Imagine if Trump, Biden, and Bernie all were in a commercial promoting mask-wearing and social distancing? You’d get a lot of people onboard. But alas, Trump…

      I do wish you and your family a good holiday season as well, and hopefully a healthy and safe one, at that.

      PS It’s okay to rant. It’s okay to be mad, angry, upset, and ranty. It’s okay to have all the feelings.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. I don’t understand either. I had to duck out of a grocery store before getting all the items I wanted because some of the people stocking shelves were wearing them over their mouths but not their noses (and the bread aisle featured a completely unmasked person stocking things up…eek).

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      Reply

      1. At least the supermarket I go into everyone who works there is good about masking and I have not run into too many people who don’t wear them at hall. The space between customers seems to be a problem for some though, ugh.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. It’s the opposite where I am. Customers are mostly good about wearing masks and leaving distance, while those stocking shelves have…well…variable behavior from store to store.

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