Thread by @gauravsabnis

India, I keep tweeting this, not from a "NY so awesome" perspective, but more from a "we are no that different" perspective. Remember April 2020 when #NYC was like the ground zero of covid with thousands of deaths? Near universal mask wearing and SD precautions started then.

NYC never ever shut down as completely as Indian cities did. Public transport still kept working, at scaled back levels. It is a VERY densely populated place. With a lot of low income people and immigrants. And tons of hospitals. It simply could not shut down.

What it did do was constantly hammer into the public the message to do the very basic things diligently like
- always wear masks outdoors or in company outside your bubble
- socially distance when you do have to step out or travel or shop
- Maintain your bubble carefully

After last April, these habits have become near universal. And you know what happened? The spread slowed down big time. And even in our second surge in Fall, the infection rates stayed well below that first debilitating wave a year ago. Spread was still relatively contained.

Throughout, mask wearing has remained near universal. Even today, with almost two thirds of us vaccinated, when I walk out, I see almost everyone (except the few obvious maga babies) wearing masks and step away to maintain 6 feet distance. Streets are crowded, but with masks on.

NYC is crowded, not super clean, messy, chaotic, diverse, and as close to an Indian city as you can get. And we never closed our inter state borders because it's pointless. Just put quarantine rules in place.

Also, NYC had at least two major public gathering periods.

After the George Floyd assassination by Derek Chauvin, there were about 2 weeks of #BlackLivesMatter protests all over the city. Conservatives and centrists predicted a surge. Did not happen. Why? Look up those protests. Masks on even when being beaten by police.

And then after Biden's win was called by the networks, that weekend again saw people spill on the streets to celebrate. Including me and the friends from my bubble as I live tweeted then. But again, no surge from those celebrations either. Cos masks and SD.

So even though we were out in public in crowds, in line with guidelines and known science,
- we were always in masks
- never spending more than a few seconds near a stranger except for a couple of pics
- always moving

No surge from these careful events.

https://twitter.com/gauravsabnis/status/1325592449201430529?s=19

Basically, you can have a semi normal life even in a public place where covid is very much around if you just wear masks, distance, and use common sense.

You know what caused our second big surge? Thanksgiving and Christmas!

People disregarding bubbles and expert warnings and spending hours if not days with family members without following common sense like making sure everyone is tested and negative before spending all that time together.

The 2nd surge in NYC peaks almost exactly 2 wks into 2021

April 2020, this city looked done for a decade. April 2021, it is jogging back to normal, while still wearing masks properly covering both nose and mouth, and staying 6 feet away from people outside your bubble which has been verified as all negative.

Please try that, India.

I'm not at all presenting NYC as a success story per se. From the initial sluggishness to tens of thousands dead to the nursing home debacle, 2020 does not exactly paint NYC as perfect.

2021 NYC tho does offer lessons to learn rather than reject with "that murca this india"

As almost all of the world tries to figure out what post covid lives are going to be, India needs to figure out something beyond this bizarre binary of
- Either sab changa si, no mask, have kumbh mela
OR
- Total lockdown and even food delivery guys are hassled by cops.