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Protests in N.Y.C.: Police Officers Without Face Masks - The New York Times

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It’s Thursday.

Weather: Wet and windy with thunderstorms and a high near 80, nighttime low in the mid-60s.

Alternate-side parking: Suspended through June 21.

Credit...Demetrius Freeman for The New York Times

The Times’s Michael Wilson writes:

Handcuffs, a gun, a baton: Police officers carry tools they consider necessary to do their job. After the coronavirus outbreak took hold in New York City, their gear expanded to include face masks.

But on any day, at the protests taking place throughout the city, it is common to see officers who are not wearing them.

Last week, Mayor Bill de Blasio said he was “frustrated” by the situation. In an interview on WNYC, Mr. de Blasio said he spoke to Police Commissioner Dermot F. Shea about it “multiple times,” adding, “It has to be fixed, and it bothers me.”

[Why are so many police officers refusing to wear masks at protests?]

More than 40 members of the Police Department who were infected with the coronavirus have died, the police said. As of May 29, the most recent date that numbers were made available, 901 uniformed members of the department — about 2.5 percent of the total number — were out sick from the virus, down from 19.8 percent at the peak in April.

At first, it was hard for the city to obtain enough personal protective equipment for police officers and other essential workers. And the rules about wearing masks were lax.

On March 20, Commissioner Shea told reporters that officers not wearing masks “could very well be a good thing,” because the face coverings could be preserved for symptomatic people.

Dr. Oxiris Barbot, the city’s health commissioner, concurred, saying, “The time to use a mask is when someone is symptomatic, when they’re coughing, when they’re sneezing, and it’s to ensure that that individual doesn’t contaminate other folks.”

But on April 17, the guidance changed. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo made face coverings mandatory for all New Yorkers who were visiting indoor locations or were unable to maintain social distancing.

Police officers were initially responsible for enforcing face mask and social-distancing rules. That led to some violent encounters, which were recorded by onlookers.

One video, for example, showed an officer sitting and kneeling on the neck and upper torso of a man who was being arrested on the Lower East Side because the police said he did not maintain social distancing.

And in a Brooklyn subway station, a woman was arrested, the police said, after she refused requests to cover her nose and mouth and then hit an officer. The mayor criticized the incident and later put civilian volunteers in charge of enforcing virus safety measures.

Now, during the protests after the death in Minneapolis of George Floyd, New Yorkers have noticed that many police officers do not wear masks. At least one Twitter account is dedicated to the issue.

Chaka McKell, 46, a carpenter from Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, said, “If you’re out here to protect the public, it starts with you.”

The department dismissed the criticism. “Perhaps it was the heat,” a spokeswoman, Sgt. Jessica McRorie, said in a statement on Wednesday. “Perhaps it was the 15-hour tours, wearing bullet-resistant vests in the sun. Perhaps it was the helmets.”

“With everything New York City has been through in the past two weeks,” she said, “and everything we are working toward together, we can put our energy to a better use.”

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After the Virus Came, 22 Parents Moved Into Their Children’s Hospital

New York Philharmonic Cancels Fall Season

Upper East Side Mom Group Implodes Over Accusations of Racism and Censorship

Want more news? Check out our full coverage.

The Mini Crossword: Here is today’s puzzle.

What is it like delivering mail during a pandemic? U.S. Postal Service workers in Jamaica, Queens, open up. [The Cut]

A Black Lives Matter mural will be painted in front of City Hall in Syracuse. [Syracuse.com]

Some residents in New London, Conn., want to remove a Christopher Columbus statue. [The Day]

At 7 p.m. on Thursday, join stars from the abbreviated Broadway season for songs, stories and a conversation exploring what this time of national unrest means for artists and the theater.

First, Wesley Morris, a Times critic at large, will sit down with Adrienne Warren and Daniel J. Watts (“Tina: The Tina Turner Musical”); Celia Rose Gooding (“Jagged Little Pill”) and Kenny Leon (director of “A Soldier’s Play”) to hear their perspectives on the protests shaping the lives of creators and fans alike.

Then Times writers, critics and editors will reveal some of their favorite moments from the shortened season, and the moments they are looking forward to when the curtain rises again. R.S.V.P. here for the event.

The Coronavirus Outbreak

  • Frequently Asked Questions and Advice

    Updated June 5, 2020

    • Does asymptomatic transmission of Covid-19 happen?

      So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement.

    • How does blood type influence coronavirus?

      A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study.

    • How many people have lost their jobs due to coronavirus in the U.S.?

      The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April.

    • Will protests set off a second viral wave of coronavirus?

      Mass protests against police brutality that have brought thousands of people onto the streets in cities across America are raising the specter of new coronavirus outbreaks, prompting political leaders, physicians and public health experts to warn that the crowds could cause a surge in cases. While many political leaders affirmed the right of protesters to express themselves, they urged the demonstrators to wear face masks and maintain social distancing, both to protect themselves and to prevent further community spread of the virus. Some infectious disease experts were reassured by the fact that the protests were held outdoors, saying the open air settings could mitigate the risk of transmission.

    • How do we start exercising again without hurting ourselves after months of lockdown?

      Exercise researchers and physicians have some blunt advice for those of us aiming to return to regular exercise now: Start slowly and then rev up your workouts, also slowly. American adults tended to be about 12 percent less active after the stay-at-home mandates began in March than they were in January. But there are steps you can take to ease your way back into regular exercise safely. First, “start at no more than 50 percent of the exercise you were doing before Covid,” says Dr. Monica Rho, the chief of musculoskeletal medicine at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago. Thread in some preparatory squats, too, she advises. “When you haven’t been exercising, you lose muscle mass.” Expect some muscle twinges after these preliminary, post-lockdown sessions, especially a day or two later. But sudden or increasing pain during exercise is a clarion call to stop and return home.

    • My state is reopening. Is it safe to go out?

      States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’t being told to stay at home, it’s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people.

    • What’s the risk of catching coronavirus from a surface?

      Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks.

    • What are the symptoms of coronavirus?

      Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days.

    • How can I protect myself while flying?

      If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.)

    • Should I wear a mask?

      The C.D.C. has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’t replace hand washing and social distancing.

    • What should I do if I feel sick?

      If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.

Video player loading
A 7 p.m. ritual outside Brooklyn Hospital Center in Fort Greene, where crowds have gathered to cheer hospital workers during the virus crisis, ended Monday with a farewell party. Video footage from Kara Baker.

The Times’s Andy Newman writes:

Early this spring at Brooklyn Hospital Center — when the intensive-care unit was overflowing, coronavirus patients were dying left and right and a third of the doctors and nurses were out sick — a cheering section would materialize outside daily as 7 p.m. approached, like fans at the stage door hoping to glimpse their idols.

And every evening, as the people on the sidewalk hooted, blasted songs and held up signs that said things like “Boundless Gratitude,” exhausted hospital workers would come out at the end of their shifts, soak up the love, sway to the music and wave like beauty queens.

Now, with the outbreak in New York City vastly diminished and attendance at the nightly cheer dropping, the organizers threw a farewell party.

On Monday evening, as the nurses and doctors and orderlies filed out, a bagpiper played “Amazing Grace.” A medic gave a bouquet and a hug to one of the regular cheerleaders. The D.J. played “Last Dance,” and everyone followed suit.

“It’s been so uplifting to have people give their time to come here and support us,” Alyeshan Quinones, an emergency room nurse, said.

It’s Thursday — uplift others.

Dear Diary:

It was September 1969. I was on Columbus Avenue somewhere in the mid-90s motorcycling toward my place on West 81st Street at around 9 p.m.

I was riding very slowly, mesmerized by the complex symphony of clicks, purrs, clacks and whirs that my brand-new CB 750 Honda’s overhead camshaft, four-cylinder engine was performing.

Suddenly, I sensed a presence to my left.

Turning my head, I saw a topless Mercedes-Benz SSK roadster circa 1930. The driver was wearing a large flat cap and an equally oversize pair of jet-black shades. He looked directly at me, nodded slowly and pulled away.

It was Miles Davis.

— Tom Benghauser

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