Facing disaster

Smiling Georgia medical volunteers made a "heart" gesture before flying to New York. This photo has attracted thousands of likes and reposts from Americans in the past few days.

On March 30th local time, New York residents watched the U.S. Navy hospital ship "Comfort" dock at the port.

(Picture from the Internet)

The last paragraph of Harvard University President Lawrence Bacow's email to students to evacuate the campus reads: No one can predict what we will face in the next few weeks, but each of us must understand that COVID-19 will test the kindness and generosity that we show in times of crisis. Our task is to show our best character and behavior in this complex and chaotic moment that I did not want. May we walk with wisdom and grace.

This week, the number of confirmed cases has increased by five digits every day, which is shocking. As of April 2, the total number of confirmed cases in the United States has exceeded 210,000, ranking first in the world. Especially in New York State, there are more than 84,000 confirmed cases, medical supplies are in short supply, and medical staff are seriously insufficient. The "anti-epidemic" situation is even more severe. Looking through Governor Andrew Cuomo's Twitter, it is simple and specific but touching: a certain company donated 10,000 bottles of disinfectant hand sanitizer to New York. A certain bank donated 1.4 million urgently needed N-95 masks to New York. A certain company donated a large amount of personal protective equipment (PPE) to New York, and so on.

"This Is OUR Time. This is OUR Fight!" In this unprecedented battle, everyone and every company has done their best to lend a hand to help and protect this "severely injured place". News on March 27 alone: ​​76,000 retired doctors and medical students volunteered to participate in the "anti-epidemic" at the front line of New York hospitals; many of them voluntarily signed a letter of commitment that if they were infected with the virus, they would leave the most precious medical resources to young people! 12,000 social workers provided free psychological counseling to affected New York citizens. JetBlue Airlines sent medical volunteers to New York for free. New Yorkers donated unlimited subway cards to medical staff. Hertz car rental company provided free car rental services to medical staff who came to New York to support. Many star-rated hotels said they could provide rooms for free to front-line medical staff.

At 7 o'clock that evening, the whole of New York was moved by the applause that rose and fell... Citizens standing on the steps, gardens, balconies, rooftops, and windows of Manhattan's Upper East Side, Brooklyn, East Village, etc., regardless of skin color and age, spontaneously responded to the invitation and sent their sincere respect and gratitude to the most beautiful retrogrades in the city who "paused PASUE" - those employees who guaranteed NYC's basic life services regardless of risks, those medical staff wearing thin PPE, those firefighters who rushed to the scene after receiving emergency calls, and those postal workers who kept the city's supplies flowing. Media reports: The applause that echoed throughout the city silenced the blame for political buck-passing at this moment.

More than half a month after Harvard President Lawrence Bacow sent the email mentioned above, he and his wife both contracted the new coronavirus. At a critical moment, he left a touching message to his colleagues. First, he thanked his great team; second, he was glad that he had been working from home recently and had no contact with his colleagues. Almost at the same time, a message from Italy made people tearful: Giuseppe Berardelli, a 72-year-old pastor infected with the coronavirus, gave the respirator purchased by the parishioners to a strange young man when he found that he needed a ventilator, and died suddenly. People call him a "true saint." I couldn't help but repeat this to my family. In the face of the century's disaster, regardless of nationality, the two elders showed people what the glory of human nature is.

I often hear this sentence recently: When adversity comes, it is also a time to test human nature. In fact, the underlying color presented in the face of disaster is often the kindness and education that can be read in the bits and pieces of ordinary days, intentionally or unintentionally.

After the United States entered a state of emergency, in order to slow the spread of the epidemic, many states successively announced the closure of "dining" in all bars and restaurants. Restaurants are only allowed to provide take-out and drive-thru pickup services. I heard this story from a friend: On March 16, a couple came to a restaurant in Houston, Texas for dinner. They spent 90.12 yuan, but left an astonishing tip anonymously after checking out: 1,900 yuan in cash + 7,500 yuan in credit card payment, a total of 9,400 yuan! The husband left a message on the receipt: "These tips are reserved for paying the store staff's wages in the next few weeks." It turned out that they came to eat specifically to pay "tips" to help the restaurant through the difficulties, and did not expect any return. In Florida, we saw many bosses express their gratitude through TV screens, because many customers left thousands of yuan before suspending business, saying that they were prepaying the meal fees for reopening after the epidemic... The so-called mutual assistance and overcoming difficulties together can be so ordinary and warm.

During the more than 20 days since the United States entered a state of emergency, the White House held "anti-epidemic" press conferences every day, even on weekends. The president and vice president faced the media on time to report the current situation of the epidemic, the progress of virus treatment, and the national actions to be taken. Behind them were FDA and CDC officials, infectious disease experts, and Department of Defense epidemic prevention military medical officers, as well as entrepreneurs in related industries such as logistics, automobiles, and clothing, depending on the content of the release.

Remember during World War II, after the United States entered the war, it almost overnight made meeting the needs of the war the highest priority. At present, Trump has activated the Defense Production Act, allowing the government to mobilize private enterprises to switch to the production of urgently needed medical supplies during the crisis. Therefore, after major automakers reduced their car loans, they gradually switched to the production of ventilators and other medical equipment. Some breweries, because of sufficient alcohol, began to produce hand sanitizers and disinfectants, and provided them to emergency personnel for free...

It is well known that the FDA is very strict in approving a new drug. It takes at least 10 years from research to market, and it needs to go through four phases of clinical trials. In the face of the epidemic, Trump has issued an executive order to abolish the red tape for the development of drugs for the new coronavirus, exempt medical personnel from their responsibilities during the treatment process, and promote the use of new drugs in clinical treatment as soon as possible.

The old man who only received a salary of $1, who was criticized every day, appeared on the media live broadcast without wearing a mask and chattered, and even "promoted" the American manufacturing industry by personally demonstrating the 5-minute rapid COVID-19 test device produced by Abbott, which can be said to be fulfilling his duties. Polls show that the president's approval rating has risen by about 5% overall since the outbreak of the epidemic. However, on a certain social networking site, there are still more than 200,000 people who signed, hoping that NASA would send Trump to the moon.

(From Florida, USA)