After two months of isolation, New York, the economic and cultural capital of the United States, does not see the light of day at the end of the tunnel yet, raising doubts about the future of this city, which is a symbol of the crowds in the streets and the continuous movement.
And if several European cities have gradually started to move the economic wheel, the largest city in the United States is the first epicenter of the epidemic with more than 20 thousand deaths, it will have to wait until at least June, to know when to reopen the shops and restaurants or offers that attract millions of tourists.
"We have to be very disciplined," the mayor of the city, Bill de Plazio, told CNN yesterday. "We will do it calmly and gradually," he added.
If the exclusion decree for the state of New York ended on Friday, only the uninhabited areas with a large population will be able to resume some commercial, industrial and recreational activities.
Although the epidemic has slowed as the daily death toll has fallen as fewer than 200 and ambulance sirens have only been heard rarely, the authorities refuse to commit to restarting schools in September, leaving millions of residents in a state of uncertainty.
"We have to be smart," said state governor Andrew Como, as he continues to warn of a second wave of the epidemic.
Currently, this city of 8.6 million people is still far from achieving the main criteria needed to gradually relaunch economic activity. These standards are a continuous decline in the number of patients admitted to hospitals, in the number of people in central care, and in positive checks.
In the face of long-term isolation, New Yorkers have so far remained relatively disciplined, despite the dire consequences of hundreds of thousands of people who have become deprived of their income, especially among black minorities and people from Latin American countries.
While demonstrations rejecting isolation intensify elsewhere in the United States, many are cautious, in line with the recommendations of city officials, especially since more than 80 children from New York have had rare inflammation, most likely linked to the emerging coronavirus. "The isolation must continue for another two or three months, because we live in a big city that includes a lot of people," said worker Denizel Charles.
"Many people are in a hurry to get back quickly to normal, but the places that have been reopened are a mess," says supermodel Keona Carswell, who is now unemployed.
However, the stagnant the economy remains, the more uncertainty about the future of a city whose importance is related to its population density and its ever-present hyperactivity.
Many wealthy people in New York have moved to rural areas, and some never even think of returning.
"All of the reasons that have been the basis of our existence (in New York), restaurants and concerts ... have disappeared," says Hans Robert, 49, an information officer at a senior New York bank. Robert, who has been with his family for 10 years in Manhattan, has moved to their rural home in North New York since the end of April and works with his wife remotely from there.
And if their daughter's school does not open in September, Robert does not rule out staying there as long as the bank he works for, like other institutions, is considering letting his employees continue working remotely.
But there are other questions about the financial situation of the city, whose tax revenues declined with the stopping of economic activity.
The city's democratic mayor waved the specter of bankruptcy as it did in the 1970s, which led to a significant drop in public services and a significant rise in crime rates.
New York is still far from achieving the key criteria needed to gradually relaunch economic activity.