The sound of sirens from an ambulance filled the cold night air of Jackson Heights, New York City, a neighborhood that is usually buzzing with people and Spanish music playing from the nearby restaurants and bars. But everything is quiet now except for the ambulances that were coming through every few hours and taking away suspected COVID-19 patients from my apartment complex and the ones nearby. I stared out through my window as the flashing lights of the ambulance lit up the night sky. Paramedics, in their protective gear, emerged from my apartment building with an elderly woman in a facemask. They placed her inside the ambulance and drove off towards Elmhurst Hospital.
My anxiety increased. I checked my forehead with the back of my hand and it felt warm. I took my temperature. It was 100.7 degrees, a mild fever. I have been coughing as well for the last few days. Recently, I also lost my ability to smell and taste. Everything I ate, even the spiciest food, tasted very bland and I did not have much of an appetite. My weight dropped from 162 pounds to 150 in less than three weeks even though I did not make any significant changes to my diet or workout routine. Normally, I am used to walking around a lot more in the city but I barely left my apartment since March 28.
Although this self-isolation has been difficult, it is a welcome break from taking the subway to work everyday. Initially, the trains were empty and I could practice safe social distancing. But towards the end of March, the trains were running more infrequently and the 7 train cars were getting more and more packed. I felt nervous every time I stepped into a train. I was finally happy when I was notified that I would not have to report to my office for the next few weeks. But that happiness was short-lived as I came down with a dry cough and fever the next day.
During my self-isolation, I have been trying to keep busy by studying Spanish, working on my side projects, and talking to friends and family on the phone. But the fever came with extreme fatigue and most days I would just remain curled up under my blanket with no energy to do anything. I have been talking a lot more frequently with my brother in Los Angeles and my parents in Bangladesh.
I have been mostly worried about my parents since they are older. They went to visit Bangladesh late last year but their return flight to New York was cancelled given the current pandemic. I am worried about them returning to New York at this time since it is now the epicentre of this disease in the United States. I don’t want to make them sick if I have the virus. Even though I have not been tested, my health did not deteriorate to the point where hospitalization is required. My symptoms included fever, chills, a cough, and body aches but thankfully no breathing issues or other serious life-threatening symptoms.
I realize that I am very fortunate. I have not lost my job and I am not being required to go to work everyday like many of my fellow New Yorkers who work essential jobs such as physicians, nurses, paramedics, grocery workers, and other low-income individuals who don’t have the luxury to stay home during this pandemic.
As a society, we need to do more to protect the most vulnerable among us and more social safety nets are needed to help the people who have lost their income and are unable to pay for food and rent. This will allow many more individuals who are struggling financially to stay home and make it easier for essential employees to commute to work more safely. That is the only way we can stop the spread of this deadly virus and save lives.
For now, I am trying to manage my health to the best of my ability and hoping that I don’t develop any other serious symptoms that will require me to go to the hospital. I have never seen New York City so empty and it is eerie. I hope that we can return to a more normal life soon and we don’t unnecessarily lose more people to this lethal disease that has been wreaking havoc throughout the world.
* Amit Noor is of Bangladeshi origin and lives in New York, USA