The Daily - Voices of the Pandemic

Episode Date: April 13, 2020

Most of America is entering its second month of lockdown in an ongoing effort to contain the coronavirus. Still, our reporters are — as safely as they can be — spread across the country, doing their best to document this unique, and at times scary, moment in our lives. Today, we listen in as they ask people in Pittsburgh, Kansas City, New York and Seattle about their new realities. Guests: Campbell Robertson, John Eligon, Alan Feuer and Mike Baker, reporters for The New York Times.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Background reading: Once-crowded American cities now feel abandoned, as if everyone suddenly moved out. There is no rush hour on the nation’s highways. “Closed” signs hang from the front doors of business after business. This was 24 hours in our new country.

So I am standing outside of the Safeway supermarket in Erie, Colorado, and it is toilet paper day. There are three people standing out here in the cold around 6.30 in the morning, and I'm going to go talk to them. Hello, how are you guys? Hello. How are you guys? I've never thought in my whole life, in 63 and a half years, I'd be crawling my butt out of bed at 5.30 looking for toilet paper. And did you have the intel that this place got its toilet paper shipment in? We were here Saturday and one nice young lady, when Marty asked about toilet paper, said our truck is coming Monday. We'll be open at 7 a.m. And I said, honey, guess where we're going tomorrow morning?

I've been rationing two squares a trip for a couple of weeks. The TP calculator on Facebook said I had three days worth, and I'm like, no, this doesn't work for me. I'm like, no, no, this doesn't work for me. I'm like, no. Here we go. From The New York Times, I'm Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily. Today.

How are you feeling physically right now? Are people trying at all to stay away from one another or is that not even possible? As much of America enters its second month of lockdown to contain the coronavirus. Are there patients that are there today that you are thinking about today? Is there something about them that really sticks in your mind? My colleagues speak to people in Pittsburgh, Kansas City, New York, and Seattle about their new realities. It's Monday, April 13th. April 13th. Hello.

Hey, Campbell. I'm sorry, did you ask me a question? You're saying, how are you doing? You know, today was up and down. Take me around, and as we're going, you can tell me about your day so far. Sure, let me see. Is there a way to flip up? I'm Campbell Robertson. I'm a national correspondent based in Pittsburgh. I spoke with a neighbor of mine, Tan Ying Dong. Show me where people are stationed at the moment.

Oh, well, all the kids are watching TV in the basement, and I can't really... I don't really want to deal with them right now because they're just, you know, they're just them. She works in public law and she's been working at home for the last few weeks. Her husband works at a hospital here, so she's basically been the lone caregiver for their three boys. They're two, five, and eight years old. I don't know, what else do you want to see? So tell me about today. How's it gone today? Today,

it was a calm, it was a relatively calm morning, actually. Kind of a quiet morning and then they ate and I had Yan do some homework i had the other two just watch tv before you start the tv you gotta do some homework okay i tried to get some work done mid-morning which i did i finished one project so it was fine. And then my oldest one had like one major tantrum where he was just screaming

because he couldn't find his sweatshirt. It's like his favorite sweatshirt. It turned out it was on one of the strollers outside. He's like, why would you leave it in the stroller? Like, it's your sweatshirt. You're responsible for it. Did he have schoolwork today? Your eight-year-old?

Yeah, so we're on Google Classroom. I'll show you. They post classwork here. This is math, reading, creative writing. And then apparently they were supposed to play the Oregon Trail game, but I wasn't able to get it to work. But at one point during his homework, he had a big mug of milk and he spilled it all over the table.

That was a lot of JFC from me. that was a lot of um jfc from me there was some tantrums over division he's doing division now and you know he's still trying to grok the concept i think he's pretty much familiar with multiplication i don't know how good he is at it but he's been able to do it without a lot of tears. Division is still tears. It's divisive. It's divisive. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

Yeah. He seems like a chill guy usually. Oh, no. No! What? So how are the three and five-year-old today? They were good. They were, um... Can you go pee-pee today?

I can, yes, but we're working on you right now. The other two, I have been just generally letting them float along and whatever they want to do. Occasionally they'll get sick of the TV and they'll want to just come upstairs and do something non-TV related. And it's like good and bad, you know. It's like, oh, that's nice. You're using your imagination. But on the other hand, it's like, please just go watch TV and don't destroy the house. So the little one just likes to kind of run laps around the house, which is great because that kind of wears them out a little bit. Hold on a second.

But I think, what's wrong? What? You want milk? You want milk? Here, I'll get you milk. Sorry. You want to say hi to Campbell? Hi. How are you? Are you having fun? I'm a baby. You're a baby? Apparently he's a baby again. Okay. We all get there eventually. I think

generally we're settling into a routine. I mean, that first two weeks was rough. Why? Just having a hard time accepting that, oh my God, all three of my kids are going to be home all the time and I'm going to be pretty much by myself with them the entire time. And oh my God, how am I going to handle this? Because I haven't had to do this. And I've never had to do this. I think, I think by now they're used to being at home. They're used to like,

they're used to this, whatever this is. So there's not really a choice at this point. Yep. Yep. We're all condemned to be with each other basically listen thank you tanning all right thank you bye take care you too Donna? Hey, it's John with the New York Times. How are you doing? I'm good, how are you? Doing well, doing well. I guess we should probably keep our distance, right? I'm John Eligal, a reporter based in Kansas City. So how are you doing? How was today for you?

It was good. It was actually good. I slept all day. Not all day, but I slept late. A few weeks ago, I spoke with Donna Danahy. Sleeping sometimes is a good thing, right? Yeah, I needed it. Yeah. Who lost her job when the economy slowed down in the wake of the virus. So I guess, you know, take me back to the beginning. Just tell me how you got in this position that you are now. I was working at Steak and Shake. I had been working there for nine months, and a couple weeks ago. They told us at midnight that night they were shutting down, except for the drive-thru.

And my friend, which I was staying with, she went to stay with her boyfriend, which moved to Iowa. And she was going to go anyway, but she just, we with her boyfriend which moved to Iowa and she was gonna go anyway but she just we lost her job so she just went ahead and went and that put me in my car with my cat. And so how long were you staying in the car for? Two weeks, it's been two weeks today I think. And what was that like being in the car? It was rainy. It was cold. Sometimes it wasn't so bad. But the worst thing was going to the bathroom.

Because in the beginning, you know, I could walk into like Walmart and go to the bathroom or the gas station. I stayed at Flyin' J a couple times. I parked there and I don't even know if they're still offering showers, but I could pay to take a shower for $12. So you were going to a truck stop to shower for $12? Yeah, at first I was staying there. But like today, most of the bathrooms are closed. There's just no place to go. And sometimes when I went to sleep, I just wanted to stay asleep because I didn't know what to do with myself.

I don't know, just, just, it was just scary. A lot of things ran through my head. I called for resources and talked to this lady. She said, well, maybe we can put you in a hotel for a day or so. And I was happy with that. She called me back and she told me that they had me a room. And I came in, I checked in, they gave me the rules. And I've been here ever since. And it's awesome. that they had me a room and I came in, I checked in, they gave me the rules and

been here ever since. And it's, it's awesome. It's great to have a place to go, you know? And my cat, my cat, just like, you should have seen her when she went into the room. She was like in heaven. I, I buy her little treats. I buy her little toys just because, you know, she's been through hell too and nobody could take care of her but me and I buy her little toys just because, you know, she's been through hell, too. And nobody can take care of her but me. And I'm not doing a very good job. I don't know. I leave here Friday, and I don't know what's going to happen. And I'm going to be back out there again. And I'm having a hard time. You know, I'm having a hard time.

You know, I'm having a hard time with that. But last week I found a job. My friend, she worked for Constantino's for years. Supermarket? Yeah. And so me and her went down there together. And she spoke with them. And we had to go back a couple days later because we had to talk to corporate.

It took me forever to get ready. It's hard to do in your car, especially when it's raining, when your clothes are in your trunk. Getting ready and dressed in the back seat, washing your hair out of a milk jug, you know, water jug, brushing your teeth, trying to find something to wear out of the trunk of my car. But, you know, I don't know where my birth certificate is or my social security card. And I thought that I could use my passport. My passport

expired, so she couldn't accept that. But it's just pinning my birth certificate. Okay, gotcha. And my friend that got me the job, she's worked like seven days straight right now. Really? Wow. And so I just see her go to work every day, and I'm like, dang, I want to go, I want to go. Yeah. We'll be right back. I'm Alan Foyer. I'm a reporter foryear-old New Yorker who was arrested and sent to prison for a murder on Staten Island in 1992. He's been in the state prison system ever since.

And recently, he's been at Sing Sing for the last three years, where there have been, according to state officials, at least two cases of the coronavirus in the prison population. So anyhow, we're expecting a call from Foster in the next few minutes, and he's going to tell us about conditions in Sing Sing right now. Hello? Can you hear me, Foster? Yeah, I can hear you. Great. So it's Monday morning, and I just wonder if you could describe for me where you are now and what's around you. Well, right now I'm in a little phone booth room on the fourth floor in Building 8.

Got it. Now, how long have you been in the state prison system? Since 1994. How do these last couple of weeks compare to other crisis times in your time in prison? People are more panicked in here. News was yelling last night and a few this morning. You know, they're not testing nobody, but it's Corona. You know, they don't give a F about us. But yeah, last night you had like, at least it sounded like from four different areas, you know, coughing and sneezing all night, you know, literally all night. You know, like I got asthma, you know, I had it all my life, you know. I also had a collapsed lung. So, you know, I worry about it all the time.

I clean myself thoroughly, constantly. The white bars down and, you know, the gate. I wash my hands and stuff thoroughly. I probably like 50-something times a day. I mean, this is literally serious. We're not just exaggerating. You know, use the dog soap and that Ajax dishwashing liquid because it does kill bacteria. Best I could do, you know.

When I'm in the yard, I try to stay my distance. You know, when I've got to go to the phone, I mean, you've got no choice. I've got a couple of socks that I wash out that I use, you know, use the sock to cover the whole phone when I'm talking on the phone. You know, you can't avoid nobody else. You know, it's totally, totally impossible. How many people have been using these phones recently? The ones in the yard, you know, everybody every day that uses the phones constantly.

You know, it could be 400 guys out there at a given time. And everybody is piled up on top of each other. I mean, literally side by side or right behind your head, you know, everybody's standing bunched up there waiting to hear their name called to get on the phone. Have the phone calls increased because of the decision to cut off prison visitation? Yeah, most definitely. Most definitely. But they do have, you know, some bleach and water solution that they squirt on the rag

and they wipe the phones off. Every 23 guys get off, they wipe it down before the next one get on. So they is doing that. Now you said you've washed your hands compulsively. You're worried. And yet you go out to the yard phone to use that phone.

Why do those calls matter to you so much at this point, Foster? Because it can let my wife and my kids know that I'm all right. And I can't even express, you know, how they feel. Like, if they don't hear from me, especially my wife and my daughter, they'd be in a panic, honestly. You know, they need me to call. You know, I need to hear from them just as much. Just crazy, man. I am really feeling it, man.

You know, the way, you know, it's going in here, like, it seems like it's just a matter of time before it spread all through this place, you know. Well, look, Foster, we really appreciate your taking time to do this, and please stay safe, okay? Yeah, yeah, I'm Foster, we really appreciate your taking time to do this and please stay safe, okay? Yeah, yeah. I'm trying, man. That's number one. Try to stay safe and stay healthy in this place, man, you know.

Thanks, Foster. Bye. Thank you. Is this like a normal journal for you? No, this is a normal. You know, my dad had told me a long time ago, you know, some of the stories that I have of taking care of patients, just jot them down. It's kind of like those old chicken soup for the soul.

You just jot down little things that took your heart or that was really special to you or really sad or hard for you. And so I started doing that years ago is where I just would jot down. I'm Mike Baker, a reporter based in Seattle. And a couple of weeks ago, I spoke to Tammy Wyatrowski,

a nurse at the hospital that faced really the initial brunt of coronavirus cases and deaths in the United States. So at the end of a night that's hard, like an end of a 12-hour shift, I can get my pad, get my journal, and then just sit there and kind of process stuff. Yeah. When the virus first hit... Then this hit and it was like, oh, I have this deep sinking. I just want to get this stuff out. Tammy began a new journal to chronicle what was happening. So I asked her to read from it.

Okay. So this was started Friday, February 28th. This was my first day of a four-day stretch as charge in our ICU. 8th. This was my first day of a four-day stretch as charge in our ICU. That evening, we received the first two COVID-19 positive results in two of our patients, one who had just succumbed to the virus. As the evening nurses were making their way in for their shift, our infectious disease director, Dr. Rito, came to let the staff know that the virus was here and that we had more patients that we needed to test. I get emotional when I think about that night. We all glanced across the room with a very blank look

of shock on our faces. It was very surreal. I immediately thought about my four grandsons that were supposed to have their monthly slumber party with granny in two weeks. Knowing that I would have to make that call, letting them know that I wouldn't be able to have this month's slumber party or maybe even the next, that my newest little granddaughter of just a year and a half would look and act so much bigger in those next few weeks while I was unable to see her. Looking around the room at my other co-workers, I could tell they were probably thinking of their loved ones as well. Then we all nodded our head as if saying yes. Without a word said, it was just understood.

Let's do this. The next several days and weeks at work became planned maneuvers like a well-oiled machine. The nurses and doctors working so close together to isolate and treat these patients. Yet the art of nursing had changed. As a nurse, I've always felt that if I couldn't help save a life and that patient dies, that I could help the family through the worst day of their life, and I still would go home feeling rewarded. life, and I still would go home feeling rewarded. I might cry all the way home or for weeks or months to come, but if I comfort the family and guide them through the process of grief,

then I still feel like I've done something good, that I have cared and that I've helped. Now, with how we have to isolate these patients, we are not able to have the families be with their loved ones as they pass. They don't get to spend the last few days of their life with them. They don't get to hold their hand as they take their last breath. As a nurse, I can't convey my sympathy

and put my arms around them. At this point, I got mad. What can I give them? What last memory did we just change by having to protect them, both the family and the community? These changes are needed under these circumstances, but they are changing the way a nurse provides the care and compassion during this time.

Now we find ways to show our care and our hearts through the phone by telling them that we remind the patient that their family sends their love, that they called, that they checked in, and that they love them. and then later on March 20th I wrote my life changed I realized probably for the first time in my career to help others has distanced me from the ones I love

life is on pause at times I'm jealous for some of the doctors and nurses that get to go home to their families and small children. As I walk by the kids' playroom, one of the bedrooms in my house with the bunk beds and toys and video games, it's quiet. I don't hear the laughs and screams as the three youngest chase each other with Nerf guns. the laughs and screams as the three youngest chase each other with Nerf guns. Several times on my day off, I've walked by and looked into the room just to see their bunk beds empty, the pillows that say relax and love, and nobody's little head on them. It makes me sad for a moment, but then I have to think when this is over, we're going to have the biggest slumber party ever. And they always know Granny loves them. For that, I'm grateful. අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි We'll be right back.

Here's what else you need to know today. A former Senate aide to Joe Biden has filed a criminal complaint over an alleged incident in which she says Biden sexually assaulted her in 1993, an allegation Biden denies. The Times reports that a friend confirmed that the former aide, Tara Reid, told her the details of the allegation at the time, and that Reid told a second friend about it in 2008. But three former Biden staff members who Reid said she reported the incident to said they have no memory of such conversations, and a complaint that Reid said she filed to the Senate at the time has not been found. to the Senate at the time, has not been found. And, over the weekend, the United States surpassed Italy in the total number of confirmed deaths from the coronavirus, more than 20,000. Meanwhile, in Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson was released from a London hospital

after being treated in an intensive care unit for his infection. Finally, in Italy, Pope Francis led an Easter vigil inside an almost empty St. Peter's Basilica, calling on his followers not to succumb to fear during the pandemic. Instead, the Pope called on Catholics around the world to be, quote, the messengers of life in a time of death. That's it for The Daily.

I'm Michael Bavaro. See you tomorrow.