Ghost Towns

Two New Yorkers are stuck as a result of the coronavirus in two different parts of the country.. Michael Paulino in his apartment in Manhattan and Alex Reyes in his dorm at St. Lawrence. Both are from the city, but coronavirus changed a lot of aspects of their usual lives.  

There are 40 people in Michael’s hallway in his apartment complex, while only four other students stay in Alex’s hall in Rebert East. The two have been forced to make a lot of changes as they deal with the major shifts in their lives. And they also have to work a little harder for their mental health.  

For Michael, a big change was the lack of chattering he usually hears outside his windows. New York City during a pandemic is comparable to a ghost town. “It’s kind of a similar experience to being on campus,” Michael muses. “It’s just really, really quiet.” 

He hasn’t left his apartment in nearly 20 days. He doesn’t know its exact size, so he uses Friends as a reference. “You know Monica’s apartment? It’s kind of like that size.”  

 “I live with my mom, who is in one of the at-risk populations, because of preexisting conditions,” Michael says. “If I get coronavirus it’s very unlikely that I would feel the same brunt of it, but for me to transmit it to someone like her, that would be more devastating.”  

When Michael leaves his apartment for the first time in 20 days it was to go the grocery store. Michael goes out equipped with a mask and gloves. Spray-painted orange lines on the sidewalk tell customers where to stand while they wait to enter the store, so everyone keeps a safe distance from each other. These lines can last blocks, four or five, according to Michael. “Something that usually takes maybe a half hour can go for as long as two or three hours,” he says. 

There is a heightened sense of awareness Michael observes when shopping. “You definitely feel a really tense, nervous energy whenever you are in a space surrounded by other people. You can feel people trying to stay away. To the point where sometimes you’ll even wait until someone leaves an aisle, so you can just walk by them and get what it is that you need.” 

The transition into life during the pandemic was especially difficult when Michael first got home. “Coming home from SLU I was so used to getting up and then walking to Dana, walking to the pub, especially interacting with people in person, you kind of go from that to kind of being cooped up in a tiny New York City apartment it kind of makes a really big difference,” he remembers.  

Alex’s new life in his dorm in Canton, alone, is also quiet. When Alex describes what he does on a normal day during the pandemic, he laughs a little. “Well, I wouldn’t call it a normal day,” he answers. “It’s not a normal day because I can’t really be now hanging out now with students here or in town.”  Alex is trying to isolate himself, to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. 

He thinks there are about 125 students left on campus. He has been hanging out a little bit with some of his friends who are still there. They do homework, play video games together, it’s almost like nothing is different. But as the virus gets worse, the time with others gets shorter.  

 “Everybody is, you know, doing their part and keeping themselves in their dorms,” Alex sighs. 

 “It’s really, really quiet,” Alex echoes Michael, describing campus right now. “I’ve never experienced this at this school before. It feels very isolated. On top of dealing with the virus and the things that are going on, as a country we also have to deal with our mental health.” Alex worries that everyone being away from each other will be harmful. 

Alex is increasingly anxious about the fate of his family, in the city. “My big brother was not feeling well,” he said sadly. “Three days ago he was feeling very sick, with fever.”  

He pauses for a moment. “They’re pretty similar symptoms to the virus,” he finally answers. His brother is starting to feel better now, so it probably wasn’t COVID-19. 

Alex wants to go home but worries about being a carrier by getting sick while traveling. “Just not being around the people you love is affecting me.  And trying to deal with that every day, because campus doesn’t feel the same.” 

While both Michael and Alex are facing challenged during the pandemic, they have each figured out ways to take care of themselves. Michael tries to stay in touch with as many people as possible. “I’m almost constantly on FaceTime,” he admits. He also said Zoom is now one of his primary means of communication.  

Alex has been reaching out to friends and uses music and videos games as an escape too. He has also turned to religion.  

“I believe in God a lot, I’m not a religious person, but my faith is really strong in God,” he says. Alex prays, reads the Bible, and just hopes God is looking out for him and his family. “That gives me a little bit of confidence, you know, makes me feel better.” 

Alex tries to turn off the news sometimes as well. “The news right now is not helping anybody,” he said. “They are making people feel worse.”