‘Doesn’t feel like New York’: Former Vancouverite says virus epicentre in U.S. now eerily quiet

NEW YORK (NEWS 1130) – America’s epicentre for COVID-19 has been described as a war-zone, but according to a Canadian in New York, the streets are eerily quiet in the “city that never sleeps.”

Jeremy Crittenden is a former Vancouverite — now an actor living in New York – where he says the mood is one of steely resolve.

“It just doesn’t feel like New York,” he says of the atmosphere around the city.

Crittenden notes many New Yorkers compare the coronavirus response to that of the 9/11 attacks.

He and his husband believe they both have come through mild cases of COVID-19 and have been quarantined at home. Crittenden says knowing a number of people on Broadway, there’s no doubt he and his partner know others who have been infected.

“Where large numbers of people who’ve been working together have gotten it,” he explains. “My husband and I are very convinced that we have COVID as well. At first, it felt a bit like a flu, and then we both lost all taste and smell – that for us was sort of the giveaway that we probably had COVID.”

However, after speaking with health authorities, Crittenden says neither he nor his husband were tested. Instead, they were told to “operate under the assumption” they both had been infected with coronavirus.

Listen to the full Jeremy Crittenden interview with NEWS 1130’s John Ackermann

The death toll across New York state climbed to more than 2,000 on Wednesday, with most fatalities reported in the New York City area in just the past week, according to figures provided by the Associated Press.

As of Thursday morning, more than 84,000 cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the state. The U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention numbers from Wednesday show there were more than 186,000 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus.

With the virus tearing through Gotham City, he says people are doing what they can to stay strong  and look for opportunities for hope.

“I had always wanted to live in New York. There is an energy about being in this city that you don’t experience anywhere else in the world and I think that’s what I miss the most — being able to be outside and feel that ‘city that never sleeps,’” he tells NEWS 1130.

“People kind of have their heads down a bit. But there’s also that kind of, everyone knows that we will get through this, we will get through this together, there will be another side of this.”

Anecdotally, Crittenden says New Yorkers have gotten better at keeping their distance from one another, and more people have started to wear masks while out.

However, being in such a dense city, he says it’s hard to avoid others at all times.

When it comes to the response from government and city officials, Crittenden says he has confidence in what he’s hearing from Governor Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo’s brother, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, was recently diagnosed with COVID-19 and forced into self-isolation.

“I do get the sense that these guys are fighting the good fight, they’re trying to be as honest with us as possible – even when the numbers aren’t great,” Crittenden explains.

Despite everything that’s happening, Crittenden says there’s no where he and his husband would rather be.

“New York has been through – even in our lifetimes – New York has been through so much, and they get to the other side of it. We all get to the other side of it together. I’m happy we decided, my husband and I, to stay in the city, to be here where our homes is and weather this storm here in New York.”

-With files from John Ackermann