To the Editor:
Re “New York Rules Can’t Apply to All” (column, April 25):
Bret Stephens would like to build an imaginary wall around New York that will miraculously contain a global pandemic on America’s shores.
Lifting evidence-based public health restrictions now is a recipe for a widespread, long-term public health catastrophe. We still don’t know whether surviving Covid-19 confers immunity on an individual, and there is no treatment or vaccine. It’s reckless to assume that areas of the country that have flattened the curve — or have thus far been spared significant outbreaks — are in the clear.
We have seen this virus quickly grab a chokehold on major metropolitan areas through community spread. It can happen anywhere: Large cities, small towns and neighborhoods across the globe have been devastated. Yet most hospitals in this country are not adequately equipped to handle a sudden wave of Covid-19 patients.
A measured lifting of restrictions, with rigorous social distancing and grounded in testing and contact tracing, is essential to ensuring that those hospitals remain able to respond to the crisis and protect their patients and staff.
New York is getting through this because of the heroism of our front-line health care workers and first responders, and decisive action that is keeping millions of New Yorkers at home. The rest of the country witnessed those actions from a distance and replicated them, protecting millions more and benefiting from New York’s sacrifice.
New York stood up to this virus. But let’s not pretend it’s only New York’s problem.
Steven J. Corwin
New York
The writer, an internist and cardiologist, is president and chief executive of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.
To the Editor:
I completely agree with Bret Stephens.
I live in Erie, a small city in northwest Pennsylvania. The surrounding county is mostly rural. Erie County has 87 Covid cases with 56 recovered and two deaths, as of this writing.
The hot spots in Pennsylvania are Philadelphia, which is more than 400 miles from Erie, and Pittsburgh, which is 128 miles away.
All the schools in the county are closed for the rest of the school year. Students are supposed to transition to distance learning despite the fact that many do not have access to a computer, either because they lack a computer or they live in a dead zone or both.
Erie County cannot “hold its breath forever.” There have already been protests to start opening up small businesses, which are locked in unfair competition with big-box stores.
Mr. Stephens nailed it: “The rest of America needs to get back to life.”
Bonnie Tomikel
Erie, Pa.
To the Editor:
New York is inextricably connected to the rest of America in profound ways, geographically, financially and emotionally. Bret Stephens’s assertion that the country can somehow be untethered from New York’s struggles and sacrifice in this pandemic is insulting and misguided.
Playing by “New York’s rules” means making incredibly difficult decisions in the interest of all of us, and sticking by them, even if they result in significant financial pain.
We are not alone in this fight against the pandemic. The world has seen before how resilient our city and its people are in the face of adversity, and we will meet this challenge, too, to the benefit of our entire country.
We all want to find a safe, responsible and effective way to move our country forward. That path can certainly look different in other cities and states. But now, especially, America will fare only as well as New York does.
Steven Rubenstein
New York
The writer is chairman of the Association for a Better New York.
To the Editor:
Bret Stephens says “I don’t see why people living in a Nashville suburb should not be allowed to return to their jobs.”
Well, tell that to the families of people here in Tennessee who have died of the coronavirus, and more who are testing positive every day. Can we measure human life in numbers?
Our Tennessee governor is going against the medical experts and the experiences of other countries that have opened their economy too fast. More deaths are on the horizon.
I invite Mr. Stephens to be the first to eat in one of our restaurants and go shopping in our stores where there are quite a few people who are not wearing masks or doing social distancing and some who party on their front lawns.
Most of us are trying to follow the guidelines. Staying home saves lives.
Lynnie Mirvis
Memphis