
<p>As I walk through Brooklyn Bridge Park, gazing at the magnificent
Manhattan skyline on the East River, at first glance it looks as crowded as it
usually does. However, if you look closer, it’s not your typical mixture of
tourists with their cacophony of foreign languages, photographers with tripods,
or teenagers on skateboards. The park is filled with lone joggers, parents in
yoga pants pushing double strollers and carefully guarding kids on scooters. No
one plays volleyball in the sand by the river. No one picnics in the barbecue
area. Everyone keeps a friendly and polite distance, some people wear face
masks. And yet, it doesn’t really look like social distancing, or the lockdown
that it is&#8211;ordered by the mayor and the governor of New York in an effort to
contain the spread of the Coronavirus.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>That peaceful picture of joggers and children playing shouldn’t
fool anyone. The five boroughs of New York City – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan,
Staten Island and the Bronx&nbsp; &#8212; are hit hard by the rapidly spreading
Coronavirus. With the death toll rising – 678 patients had died in overcrowded
New York City hospitals by March 28, and the number of cases in New York state
has surpassed 53,000; the five boroughs of New York have become the epicenter
of the pandemic.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The healthcare system is overwhelmed. I spoke with four medical
professionals in the city and they all confirm the disturbing reality that is
in the news. The hospitals don’t have enough protective gear, single use masks
have been reused, hospitals do not have enough beds and ventilators. Medical
personnel intubate patients non-stop, assisting them with breathing. The city
hospitals have set up makeshift tents to triage COVID-19 patients as well as to
act as morgues. The government’s delayed response to the virus’s spread is
costing many, many lives.&nbsp;</p>



<p>One thing that is striking about New Yorkers – my home of
seventeen years – is how people come together and support each other. After the
terrorist attack on September 11, 2001; during the power outage in 2003, when
the entire city went dark for hours; and after the devastating hurricane Sandy
in 2012.&nbsp;</p>



<p>On the day when Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, New
Yorkers, predominantly liberal democrats, were especially sensitive with each
other, calmly sharing their sadness and expressing worry for the future of
their country. Today, when schools, non-essential stores, bars and restaurants
are closed, and many people are isolating and trying to follow social
distancing guidelines, members of communities come together to help each other:
buying food for older neighbors, helping with disinfecting door knobs and
elevator buttons. Mental health professionals volunteer their services to the
anxious and scared. At grocery stores and pharmacies only a few people are
allowed in at a time, people are waiting outside, standing about two meters
apart, and the doormen pour out hand sanitizer into people’s palms.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Besides solidarity and respect, there is also fear and anxiety.
Service and food industry workers are out of work, facing months of hardships.
According to the New York State Labor department, during the first days of the
lockdown, in some parts of the state, there was a 1,000% increase in
unemployment claims as 1.7 million people called to file for benefits. Well
over a million children from financially strained families relied on school
lunches, and those are now provided at meal sites. But that also means the
disparity in incomes in New York has been underscored by the Covid 19 impact,
and the inequality between the haves and have-nots will continue to be exposed.</p>



<p>Forbes headquarters in New Jersey has been working remotely since
the first week of March. We quickly re-organized: the entire company of 400
people has migrated into a virtual workplace, with a highly mobilized virtual
newsroom. Besides holding daily meetings and video calls, our teams get
together for virtual hangouts to keep each other’s spirits up.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The city authorities were slow to respond to the Covid-19 spread.
For weeks, when it was clear the crisis was imminent, eight million New Yorkers
commuted in crowded subways, went to crowded restaurants and bars, and also
traveled to and from crowded international airports, breathing in each other’s
air.&nbsp;</p>



<p>In the absence of the pandemic team, fired by Trump in 2018, the
federal government’s response was slow to respond to the disaster. The Trump
administration failed to prevent this crisis underestimating the danger of
Covid-19: “We have it totally under control,” he said in January, when the
virus was already spreading. “It’s one person coming in from China, and we have
it under control.” The government failed to test people in a timely manner. In
New York,&nbsp; Mayor Bill De Blasio and the governor Andew Cuomo stepped in
and tried to help the hospitals secure supplies and additional testing
stations. They are still trying.</p>



<p>Meanwhile, the city is contemplating closing parks and other public places. Maybe even prohibiting people from leaving their homes, or perhaps prohibiting them from leaving New York itself. For the next few weeks, the Big Apple will stay confined indoors. Stay home, don’t spread, save lives.</p>



<p>&#8211;<em>Katya Soldak, Forbes Staff, Business</em></p>


IMG_0317

New York On Lockdown


<p>While discussing the measures that the government would be taking to combat COVID-19,  South Africa&#8217;s president Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement to millions of citizens watching and listening to his speech &#8220;The National Coronavirus Command Council has forced a nationwide lockdown for 21 days with effect at midnight on Thursday March 26, 2020&#8221;.  </p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">President <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ramaphosa?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Ramaphosa</a>: The nation-wide lockdown will be enacted in terms of the Disaster Management Act and will entail the following:<br> <br>&#8211; From midnight on Thursday 26 March until midnight on Thursday 16 April, all South Africans will have to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/stayathome?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#stayathome</a>.<br> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID19?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#COVID19</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CoronaVirusSA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CoronaVirusSA</a></p>&mdash; The Presidency 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) <a href="https://twitter.com/PresidencyZA/status/1242152975361081344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 23, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p>Earlier in the day the country&#8217;s Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize released a statement via his twitter account that the number of confirmed coronavirus cases had risen by 128 to 402.  The first case of COVID-19 infection in South Africa was reported on March 5, 2020.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Latest confirmed cases of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID19?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#COVID19</a> as at 23 March 2020 <a href="https://t.co/ryb8WUvQv6">pic.twitter.com/ryb8WUvQv6</a></p>&mdash; Zweli Mkhize (@DrZweliMkhize) <a href="https://twitter.com/DrZweliMkhize/status/1242055979811966984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 23, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p>Social media users took to twitter to voice their concerns asking the president to shutdown the country. Shortly afterwards, the hashtags #CyrilRamaphosa #ShutdownSA and #ShutdownSouthAfrica began trending.  </p>



<p>While addressing the nation Ramaphosa stated that the lockdown is &#8220;a decisive measure to save lives of South Africans from infections and save the lives of  hundreds of thousands of our people&#8221;. The president further stated that while this measure will have a considerable impact on the livelihoods of citizens of the country and the economy, &#8220;the human cost of delaying this action would be far far greater&#8221;. </p>



<p><strong>What does the lockdown entail? </strong></p>



<p>From midnight the following will happen:</p>



<ul><li>The lockdown will come to effect on midnight &#8211; Thursday,  26th March 2020 until midnight on Thursday April 16, 2020. </li><li>All South Africans will have to stay at home</li><li>The people exempted from the lockdown include health workers in the public and private sectors, emergency personnel, those in security services such as the police, traffic officers, military medical personnel, soldiers, and other persons necessary for the country&#8217;s response to the pandemic. This also includes those involved in the production, distribution, and supply of food and basic goods. Essential banking services,  the maintenance of power, water and telecommunication services, laboratory services and the provision of medical and hygiene products. </li><li>Individuals won&#8217;t be allowed to leave their homes except under strictly controlled circumstances.  </li><li> For the homeless, either their existing locations or, where available, alternative temporary accommodation sites, will be used for their 21-day “stay-at-home” period. </li><li>During this period, clinics, pharmacies, food-stores and hospitals will remain open. </li><li> Health care will be provided through triage to obtain “centralised treatment” for severe cases and “decentralised primary care” for mild cases. &#8211; A key objective is not to overwhelm hospitals with unnecessary care seekers. </li></ul>



<p>Ramaphosa further stated that the Oppenheimer and Rupert Foundations will provide R1 billion (over $56 million) each to assist small businesses and their employees affected by COVID-19. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BREAKING?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BREAKING</a>: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Coronavirus?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Coronavirus</a>: President <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CyrilRamaphosa?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CyrilRamaphosa</a> says the Oppenheimer and Rupert Foundations will provide R1 billion (over $56 million) each to assist small businesses and their employees affected by COVID-19. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Lockdown?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Lockdown</a> <a href="https://t.co/0oTksyoRQj">pic.twitter.com/0oTksyoRQj</a></p>&mdash; Forbes Africa (@forbesafrica) <a href="https://twitter.com/forbesafrica/status/1242153956865908737?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 23, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p></p>


Tag: Lockdown

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

New York On Lockdown

#Coronavirus: South Africa Imposes 21 Day Lockdown After Confirmed COVID-19 Cases Rise By 128 to 402