There are scant words to really describe the situation we all face at the moment. Since the second World War nothing has impacted the entire world quite as harshly as this virus. We face AIDS, SARS and others, but none have rocked every continent, country and society to the core as COVID-19 is. Everything has changed and will stay changed in so many ways once we come out of this again.
New York City, the city that many loving call ‘the city at the center of the world’, has become the current epicenter of this pandemic with more than 110,000 confirmed cases and over 10,000 deaths. This mean far more people have died in New York City on a per capita basis than did in Italy, Europe’s hardest hit country. A staggering reality to take in!
Only a few weeks ago Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered all non-essential businesses closed and for New Yorkers to stay indoors. Despite these extreme measures, every day we watch in horror as the number of new confirmed COVID-19 case rises and the death toll just rocks higher.
For many of us New Yorkers, this means confined small spaces, isolation from our friends, families and nearly all the little activities that we love so much and took for granted. No quick pit stop at the corner café, egg white omelet on the way to work, or deli salad for lunch. Instead our routines are now centered within our little havens, the four walls of our apartments.
At the heart of this massive storm, there is a small army of heroes fighting for our very lives. Selfishly! Tirelessly! Unfalteringly! Their heroism rivals that of King Leonidas and his 300 Spartan warriors in the battle of Thermopylae. Could Gerard Buttler have done as well as these New York Heroes? No, not even the mighty Spartans could do a better job.
Who are these Heroes? New York’s healthcare workers, the countless doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and the other healthcare personnel that are putting their own lives on the line in order to save as many people as possible. And let us not forget all those healthcare workers that have come from a far, out of retirement, and even back from other careers, that have heeded New York’s dire call for help. All of whom that have left their families behind, risking their own health, even lives, all with the single purpose, single goal of saving as many people as possible from the silent killer we now know as COVID-19.
To thank these healthcare workers and hospital staff, working on the front lines, we join our fellow New Yorkers every night at 7pm, as the hospitals change shifts, and clap, holler, hoot and generally make a ruckus of noises, to show our deep appreciation of their selfless sacrifice. This trend has now become known as #ClapBecauseWeCare.
We stand alongside you and Salute You! You are our heroes!
A big THANK YOU for your hard work.
We ADMIRE your resilience and selflessness.
THANK YOU !!!!!