Corona: – The situation turned upside down.

NEW YORK (Dagbladet): The year of the pandemic has been tragic, sad and terrifying. Never before have we experienced the entire world suddenly coming to a standstill like this. Everyday life has been turned upside down. The disease has hit hard. People’s livelihoods have disappeared. Many have been left isolated in fear and without the opportunity to meet friends and family. In few places was this more true than here in New York.

Many predicted that this was the end of the world’s metropolis. It is not. In one area after another, the city awakens. People are coming back. But it will be a significantly different city from the world metropolis that closed in March of last year.

Near death

Lonely

When the pandemic hit hard last spring, we suddenly ended up in the middle of the epicenter of the pandemic. The light went out in the city that never sleeps. The city closed. The usually busy streets of the world metropolis were deserted. In Central Park, a field hospital was installed. A gigantic floating military hospital was located along the Hudson River. We, who lived here, were in practice tied to our often very cramped apartments. The silence in the deserted streets was broken mainly by the sound of sirens, and the ceremony every day at 7 pm when people lined their windows to light pots in honor of the health workers.

New York wedding photos are shocking

Every day we saw how the death toll increased and rose. My neighborhood hospital, and many others, had to install refrigerated trailers outside to accommodate all the bodies. At worst, more people die every day in New York than have died in Norway during the pandemic. So far, around 50,000 people have died from the crown in a state that has roughly four times as many people as Norway.

She fell apart

Last spring, then-US President Donald Trump also held daily press conferences at the White House with his corona experts. There he tried to underestimate the seriousness of the situation, or tried to politicize scientific advice on, for example, wearing a mask. Or he asked the people of states with democratic governors to “break free.” Or he came up with crazy suggestions, like injecting himself with bleach. In short, it felt like being in a country without proper leadership, while the reality around us was collapsing and the situation got worse and worse.

Corona: Inside the epicenter

So it went on month after month. While Norway and other countries experienced a summer that seemed much more normal than we could dream of, we continue to live in an extreme state of emergency. The situation was partially disrupted in early summer when the United States erupted in Black Lives Matter demonstrations and riots. But apart from the daily walks in the fresh air, most of the time we sat at home.

Autumn continued on the same track. Trump lost the presidential election, but the chaos continued. In January came the worst wave of infection yet and a deadly attack on Congress. Winter became terribly dark and cold.

Knife injured outside Manhattan restaurant

The inflection point

Then the turning point finally arrived. Joe Biden assumed the presidency. Vaccine distribution was dramatically increased and a gigantic economic rescue package was adopted.

In recent months, it feels as if the pandemic has slowly broken out of its grip on New York. There are still strict restrictions, but they are being loosened. Little by little, people return to fill the streets, to eat in restaurants and go to the cinema, museum or concert (with important restrictions). After a year in a completely unrealistic state of emergency, it feels like great progress when we can finally reconnect with friends.

For the largest city and cultural capital of the United States, a year without visitors has left deep traces. But now this too is about to change. Broadway hopes to open in a few months. Occupancy in the city’s hotels increased to 61.5 percent in mid-March. This is a significant increase from 38 percent in January. But at the same time, well below the 87 percent, which was the case before the pandemic, writes the New York Post.

The key

Vaccines appear to be the key to reopening. A massive device in both New York and other US states now places around 2.8 million doses in the arms of Americans every day. This week, New York opened for the vaccination of anyone over the age of 30, and next week, anyone over the age of 16 will qualify for the vaccine.

Racing after the game

In New York, the lights are now partially on again. But not everything is just joy and rejoicing. Infection rates remain high and are increasing. There are problems in making the vaccine available to somewhat vulnerable populations. Many have moved out of town. If you walk down almost any street in downtown areas, you will see empty commercial premises for rent. Many famous and beloved restaurants have passed the doll. What will happen to the huge skyscrapers of Manhattan in the future is a big question mark. Companies that previously rented offices there have learned that it is much cheaper to let their workers work from home or elsewhere, reports the New York Times.

Look at norway

For much of the past year, I have seen Norway, where there have been far fewer restrictions and the situation seemed much more controlled. But lately, the situation has changed. Norway now lives with strict restrictions, a slow vaccination process and a more unpredictable situation.

I recently had the opportunity to vaccinate myself. After everything we’ve been through this year, it was quite an emotional session.

New York has experienced unimaginable losses. Many here in the city know someone who has passed away or we have friends who have lost loved ones. There has been despair, sadness, fear and confusion. The pandemic is by no means over, but it finally seems like we are on our way back to life and better times.