I’ll always remember March 13th as the tipping point in New York City.
My sister-in-law who was studying in Italy told us it was serious. It was bad, people were dying—and it was coming for us. But the warning signals from Rome were too late, it was already here.
This silent but deadly killer, the “coronavirus”, was a virus originating in Wuhan, China.
“It came from a bat!”
“You don’t even know you have it”
“China tried to cover it up”
“There are only 15 cases in the U.S., the flu is worse”
News and fake news convolve into one big ball of useless words causing an infodemic. The U.S. President starts to change his tune from calling it a democrat “hoax” to meaningless sentences shifting blame away from him to bragging about his daily briefings having higher ratings than The Bachelor. Needless to say, any type of comfort or competent leadership was difficult to find.
As the days went on, my fiance, puppy, and I, huddled up in our 750-sq-ft Brooklyn apartment, learned a new dictionary of words: pandemic, social distance, quarantine. Technologies like Zoom and Netflix replaced commutes and eating out. The streets emptied out and the economy plummeted.
As a freelance documentary filmmaker, all of my projects came to a quick stop. Agencies halted. Filmmakers were home-bound. Everyone was looking at each other wondering where or how to make the next move.
Fortunately, I have savings for this type of emergency and a small amount of passive income. Any story anyone was telling any where on earth was suddenly infected with the coronavirus. Were you making a documentary about an abortion clinic? Good luck, it’ll probably be closed for the next three months and may shut down. Making a documentary about transgender rights? That protest that was pivotal to your plot was cancelled indefinitely. Making a travel food docuseries? Good luck getting on an airplane. You’re making a documentary about dementia patients? You won’t even be able to go near them without risking killing them, so no production for you!
So what, why am I writing more about coronavirus? There is already so much saturation on this topic. Any time I’m tempted to pitch a coronavirus story, I stop myself because I bet some bigger, more qualified media outlet has beat me to it. So I can’t work on non-coronavirus stories, and I can’t work on coronavirus stories. We’re stuck.
I’m writing to document, because that’s what I do. I like to capture moments of time that we’ll soon look back on with perspective. This is what it’s like today, April 7th. There’s funerals being help over Skype. People are mourning their dead parents, brothers, sisters, etc. over the computer because they aren’t allowed to gather for funerals. Meanwhile, the Governor of Georgia has opened up all public beaches for enjoyment again because the economy there “needs it”. Weddings and graduations are being cancelled and postponed indefinitely. Mothers are giving birth alone. Over 700 people died today in NYC from coronavirus. There is no silver lining, no light at the end of the tunnel. People are feeling helpless and alone.
There is so much that is unknown about this deadly disease and in times of distress, we want to band together. But this virus has taken even that comfort away from us.
I’m currently living in my parents camper with my fiance and dog. With my asthma and the apex of NYC’s curve hitting over the next two weeks, we decided it would be safest to leave NYC and, literally, camp out here. We’re playing games on our phones with siblings, having virtual Zoom birthday parties, and organizing everything. We’re doing puzzles, drinking every night, enjoying the flowers, and trying to ignore the utter devastation all around us. I’m thankful for financial security, the ability to leave a dangerous situation, and that my family is healthy and safe at the moment.
This virus is going to change the world forever. I’m so curious to see the perspective we will have this time next year. I’m currently reading The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell, I started it right before this whole thing began. I feel as though the coronavirus outbreak is just thousands, if not millions, of little tipping points happening all over the world.
For the first time ever, the entire world has one common enemy. That’s going to have an interesting effect on humanity for at least the rest of my life.
So that’s the snapshot of today, April 7th.
I guess that’s one benefit; life in the time of quarantine gives you plenty of time to write.
Erin