Harlem Report

I spoke with my son again today. He tells me that the hospital hasn't been admitting any new COVID cases. They are currently moving patients back and forth between regular rooms and the ICU as the patients get better, relapse, and then get better again. They are back to 'regular' ED patients now.

They had an incident where a housekeeper working for the hospital was going to patients' rooms and telling them that they weren't really sick, that they were only in the hospital so the hospital could make money off of them. She was telling them that COVID was a fake disease, and advising them to leave. Being that she was wearing scrubs and an employee ID, some of them believed her and actually left the hospital.

She was fired, and security escorted her from the building. No word on whether or not she will face criminal charges.

My son apparently made the correct choice to stay in NYC. He was informed that he has been furloughed from his regular job here in Florida. The good news there is that he just got his first paycheck from FEMA this week. This two week paycheck was what a starting teacher makes in a year, and what my son normally makes in two months. By the time his contract ends, they will have paid him four more of those.

He walked out of the hospital one day to get lunch. There is a store directly across the street. He was approached by a man who asked if he was a doctor. He said no, so then the man announced that he was a drug dealer and said, "Imma drug dealer. I got Percocet, cocaine, weed, anything you need. Come see me." My son thanked him and hurried back to work.

He was telling me that, from what he has seen, living in NYC would be the closest thing to hell that he could picture living in. Keep in mind that he was once a flight nurse, and has traveled all over the world: China, the Caribbean, South America. He says that the place is corrupt and pretty much everyone there is crazy. He even saw a man arguing with a walk/don't walk sign last week: "Don't tell me what to do!"

He did, however say that the violent crime isn't what he pictured it would be. I pointed out to him that NYC is still on lockdown and the streets are largely empty.