New York turns the tide thanks to a Covid-19 vaccine

More than a year after the Covid-19 lockdowns put the ‘sleeping city’ into a deep sleep, New York may wake up again this summer.

New Yorkers are happy to return to normal life after being vaccinated against Covid-19. Photo: AP According to the AP news agency, starting May 19, New Yorkers and Americans who have received the Covid-19 vaccine can remove their masks in most situations and restaurants, shops, and gyms. Many other businesses can also reopen at full capacity if they make sure all patrons are vaccinated. This week, the subway will operate around the clock. The midnight curfew for bars and restaurants will end later this month. Broadways tickets are on sale again, although the shows won’t start until September. Now is the time for New York to shed the image of a city that was defeated by the virus last spring and bounce back, as it was featured on the latest cover of The New Yorker, US officials said. It was an image of a giant door that partially opened the horizon to let a ray of light in. Can New York go back to the way it was? “Probably 75%…It will definitely come back,” says Mark Kumar, 24, a personal trainer. However, Ameen Deen, 63, said: ‘Full sense of normalcy won’t come anytime soon. There are too many deaths, too much suffering and inequality.” Last spring, the largest city in the US was the deadliest coronavirus hotspot in the US with more than 21,000 deaths in just two months. Black patients of Hispanic descent have higher mortality rates than whites and Asian Americans. Photo: AP Hospitals are overflowing with patients and corpses. Cold trailers were used as makeshift morgues and tents were set up in Central Park as a makeshift hospital to treat Covid-19. The bustling streets of New York became quiet, making room for ambulance sirens and nighttime applause from the windows of paramedic apartments. After more than a year of uncertainty, closure and reopening, the city hopes vaccinations will make things better. To date, about 48% of New Yorkers have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. The number of deaths, infections and hospitalizations from Covid-19 has dropped sharply in recent weeks. Many parts of the US and the world are gradually returning to normal after the Covid-19 crisis, which has claimed the lives of 3.4 million people globally, including more than 587,000 in the US. . Las Vegas casinos are reopening at 100% capacity with no social distancing requirements. Disneyland in California also reopened late last month after shutting down for 400 days. Massachusetts also announced that all restrictions related to Covid-19 will end at the end of Memorial Day weekend. France also reopened yesterday, with the Eiffel Tower, cafes and cinemas, and the Louvre also welcoming visitors for the first time in months. Hoai Linh