100 Days of Lockdown – Part II

The lockdown begins. Everything is shuttered, well at least all the fun stuff: gyms, restaurants, movie theaters, boutiques, and bars — beginning 8 p.m. There’s a ban on gatherings of more than 50 people in the tristate area. I gather with friends at our local bar in Fort Greene for one last drink. We attempt the new social distancing protocols, and we all promise to see each other soon.

We’re not exactly sure how this works. My partner and I stock up on food, supermarkets are crowded, people can be seen with more packs of toilet paper than they can carry. Some people are already wearing face masks. We think that’s overkill. My planned business trip to Switzerland, for a stint of working out of our offices in Basel between the end of March and mid-May, is cancelled. A bit of paranoia kicks in, as I reflect on over 20 meetings, plane and train rides in the past week — do I have symptoms?

I start watching CNN for the daily briefs from the new Coronavirus hero, Andrew Cuomo, the New York State governor. Cases state-wide spike dramatically overnight as testing slowly starts to kick in. I begin to realize I need to regulate my CNN consumption to no more that 15 minutes a day. This stuff is panic-inducing. The news coming out of the White House is increasingly bizarre, so I turn to late-night host Stephen Colbert, who does a fine job of summarizing and satirizing the situation. So I depend on him for my POTUS updates.

I adopt a new rhythm: get up with the sun, go for a run, go to bed at sundown. I haven’t run as regularly in years. Daily rituals like this, as well as the increased amount of time of hanging out and playing with my cats (who thanks to Corona they are now used to 24/7 attention and entertainment) help to keep a level of normality.

This is convenient, because I’m now syncing up with my colleagues at iart in Basel. Early on, I figure out it makes sense to run very early to avoid the crowds. Now that everyone is officially supposed to wear masks, people are complaining about runners and cyclists not wearing them. This new “lifestyle” will prove to keep me sane for the upcoming days, weeks and months to come…

In general, it’s hard to know what’s okay, what’s not okay. Do we need gloves and wipes for everything? Six feet apart indoors and outdoors? People seem to be afraid of other people on the streets.

The early days of the lockdown seem optimistic for business in the US. I have a number of productive follow-up calls to my Chicago trip. Most seem enthusiastic about the future, even if uncertain — there’s a general air of hopefulness, at least. Our clients based in the US are still active, even though the news paint a different picture. We discuss and work on projects as we did prior to the lockdown.

April 4
Both the Mayor and the governor warn us that the next two weeks will be very tough for New York City. Cuomo announces the curve of death and infections will climb dramatically. We live close to a hospital, and it seems to come alive every 5 minutes, as wailing ambulances pass by our house. Friends and family in Switzerland keep calling. The news from New York is downright apocalyptic. I report back that we are fine, and fortunate, all things considered.

As of Friday, more than 10,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the tristate in less than six weeks. With no sign of the economy opening back up anytime soon, optimism on the business front is dissipating. The Italians started the applause for essential workers, but New Yorkers are not to be outdone. Every day at 7pm people open up windows, clap, drum, dust off their vuvuzelas and make some noise for about 10 minutes. On the streets it is eerie because you hear all the noise, but see no one. In my video, a few weeks later, there are signs of life — a few families come out of their caves, and sit on the stoops.

Indications are that the curve has peaked, even though I still hear ambulances frequently. Starting Friday, all able bodied citizens from children upwards are required to wear face coverings in public. The information around face masks is confusing— do they really have any impact? Or is this just to make everyone feel safe?

April 20
New York reports its lowest single-day death toll (478) in weeks, as key metrics continue to decline across the board.

Lukas Fitze (iart) is a strategic developer and project manager with a long-standing working relationship with ETH Zurich. Our “man” in New York, Lukas perhaps epitomizes the ETH Ambassador championing the university’s innovative research and creating numerous opportunities for its community.

The thing that keeps me busiest at the moment is: My cats.
My favourite app is: Don’t have any favorites, but I use WhatsApp daily and it definitely makes communication easier.
One book or movie I recommend: I thought the TV show Devs raised many important questions.
And if all else fails, my instant pick-me-up is: Running.