Self-Rated General Health In New York City: Fill & Download for Free

Hi! Unlike a lot of people you’re hearing from on here, I have actually tested positive for Covid-19. I was most likely exposed on March 3rd, became ill about a week later, and just received my official test results today, March 17th.Coronavirus feels like the most devastating flu I have ever had. Intense bouts of fever, alternating with the kind of chills that, even with three sweaters on, make your teeth chatter uncontrollably. I’m “lucky”, relatively speaking, because my temperature never went higher than 102 degrees Fahrenheit, but even then, it felt like my body was burning up. Plus, a general feeling in my head that I can only describe as “heavy” or “flu-ish” that makes every movement and activity feel like a massive chore.A few days later, I developed a very annoying dry cough. But again, I am lucky because there have been no chest pains or breathing problems, which would be a reason to be hospitalized.My appetite has been nearly nonexistent—I am normally a big eater, and it’s only been in the past couple days that I’ve been able to make myself eat anything. Even then, it feels very gross, and I can only consume very small amounts.Fortunately, I’ve been able to manage my symptoms just by taking Tylenol, and my condition appears to be improving. The worst part, though, is being stuck at home but feeling too sick and exhausted to actually do anything except sit around and cough.As I said, I’m one of the lucky ones: According to the doctors, I will most likely be fine in another week.But trust me, people: This virus is real. You do NOT want it. And you do not want to be the one who gave it to someone else. Chances are, many of you are carrying it already, even if you don’t have any symptoms. (I most likely had it for at least a week before ever feeling sick.) Stay home, and wash your damn hands!EDIT: I’m sure a lot of people are wondering how I was able to get tested. I found out that one of the ushers at a Broadway show I had attended tested postive for the virus. Because of this potentially direct exposure, combined with the fact that I had all the symptoms, and tested negative for flu, I was okayed for the Covid-19 test. I don’t think this is right, but at least here in New York City, that is how they are doing it.Also: I am 47 years old, in decent physical shape with no preexisting health conditions.EDIT 2: One more time, for the tinfoil-hat crowd: I tested negative for both types of influenza. I do not have the flu. Trust me, I wish that was all I had right now. But it’s not. I have absolutely nothing to gain by telling my story, except to educate others about exactly what I’ve been going through.A lot of you are obviously scared by what’s happening in the world right now, and that’s understandable. But believing that your armchair assessment of my symptoms is somehow more valid than actual scientific CDC tests conducted by a qualified doctor is ridiculous, and it’s very dangerous to others. The fact that you somehow think you know better doesn’t make it true. So stop it. You sound like a bunch of whining babies. Put your big-boy pants on, and start treating this like the real issue that it is, before you literally become another statistic.EDIT 3:Dear World,Today (March 21), for the first time in weeks, I woke up with ZERO fever or flu symptoms. (This, by the way, is exactly the timeline predicted by the doctors who tested me at City MD last week.) I still have very slight remnants of the cough, so I will continue to self-quarantine as a precaution. But otherwise, all things considered, I’m feeling pretty damn good today.If you are currently sick with this illness, I am here to tell you that, for MOST of us, it will pass. It won’t be pretty, but it will pass.If you are concerned about catching it… you should be! Practice hygiene and self-quarantine, and get your information from reputable, non-commercial sources, such as the CDC: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)If you feel like you are getting sick—especially if you have a combination of fever, cough, and chest pains or breathing issues—contact a medical professional. Trust me, I know how scary it can feel, but it’s much better for you (and your community) to know what’s going on, and be able to do something about it. If we hadn’t visited a doctor when we did, we would not have caught my wife’s pneumonia in time, and I might not be telling such a happy story right now.We can get through this together, as Americans and as human beings. Take care of yourselves, look out for each other, and listen to the scientists and the health care professionals! They are working overtime for all of us right now, and they deserve all our compassion and respect!Thanks for all the well-wishes and votes of confidence during this very difficult time.Love from New York City,LeonEDIT 4: Today (March 29) was the first day I woke up with no cough. Which means that, in another 3 days, I will hopefully be considered non-contagious. However, as this virus continues to spread, especially here in New York City, I want to reiterate: I AM ONE OF THE LUCKY ONES. My sickness never progressed to the level of respiratory distress. There are many more who are not so lucky. Since my last post, I have lost one friend to Covid-19, and know three more who are currently hospitalized. I have heard firsthand from seasoned, veteran nurses who cry on their way to work each morning because the death rate at their job is up to one person per hour, and the bodies are literally piling up in trailers. This pandemic is real, and it is deadly.I appreciate all the well-wishing and congratulations I have received on here. But PLEASE do not interpret my own personal experience as a sign that “everything will be ok” or “there is nothing to worry about”. This virus can strike anyone, and it can kill fast, and without warning. I am eternally grateful that my wife and I were not hit hard, but that doesn’t mean that many, many others won’t be. Wherever you are, please stay isolated whenever possible, and take all precautions with hygiene and personal contact. As I said before, we can get through this, but we have to be smart about it, and take it seriously.Thanks again for all the kind words.Leon

Mardi Gras was probably the trigger, but I think socioeconomic factors are going to be the main driver of Covid-19 in the United States. And race, because race is connected to health disparities.Look at where the virus is really hitting hard right now: New York, New Orleans, and Detroit. Why Detroit, of all places? Because Detroit has terrible poverty issues.And if you map out where the virus is doing the worst damage in New York City, it’s in the low-income neighborhoods. South Bronx, western Queens. New York is not all Wall Street. People always talk about Mississippi and Alabama as if they’re the worst examples of poverty in the U.S. In fact, the South Bronx is the poorest congressional district in the country.A Month of Coronavirus in New York City: See the Hardest-Hit AreasExtrapolate that to New Orleans, which has one of the highest urban poverty rates in America, and I think you have part of your answer. It wasn’t just Mardi Gras.While Seattle was the original epicenter of Covid-19, Seattle mostly knocked this out. One reason, I think, is that it’s just more affluent than New Orleans. This isn’t to say that there’s no poverty in Seattle (there totally is) or that the more affluent Seattlites can automatically pay off the Grim Reaper (they cannot.) And it’s not simply that more affluent Americans can afford to stay at home and drive transmission down. It’s that the more affluent are typically in better health to start with. Long-term poverty is a major health issue. While certainly not everybody in New Orleans, Detroit or the Bronx is poor, poverty is basically a “co-morbidity.”I’d be willing to bet this will be the major story of Covid-19 in America — not what it does to people over 80. All the nice suburban folk hiding under the sofa, who think Covid-19 is practically oozing through the keyhole: these Americans probably don’t have much to fear, because most of them have adequate access to healthcare and, in general, they’re in good health. Overall, they tend to eat well and their lives often revolve around personal fitness. These aren’t bad things. I’m not making fun of them. But if you’ve ever been to certain parts of Detroit, New York or New Orleans — or Toledo, Cleveland, the list goes on — it’s obvious that people there face a different, more challenging set of health issues. Some of them self-created, some a predictable result of poverty.Covid-19 will lay that difference bare in absolutely stark terms. The virus might blow over faster than we think… or not. But whatever occurs, “our little friend” will still do us the big favor of making one thing crystal-clear: America’s health disparities are glaring. Let’s learn a lesson and work to reduce them.It’s a strange silver lining, but we can benefit from it if we want to.

Great question. As proprietor of a bicycle business, I can share some of my ideas and experiences and maybe come up with an answer.First and foremost, you get what you pay for. The Manhattan bicycle delivery fleet in general works without workers' compensation insurance or being on payroll. Doing deliveries in the most expeditious way makes them more money (in tips certainly, even if they are paid a flat daily or hourly rate).Workers Compensation Insurance in New York City for bicycle couriers costs $23.30 per $100 of salary. That's a 23.3% levy on salaries; for every four dollars spent on deliverymen's salaries, one dollar ought to go to workers' comp. This doesn't happen because restaurant owners either hire deliverymen as Independent Building Contractors or with a different job title, such as dishwasher, with a cheaper workers' comp rate.Payroll fringe costs, including FICA and FUTA, by my calculations come out to about $15 per $100 of salary.Liability insurance, to protect workers from being sued for crashes while on the job, is not cheap either; it would probably cost a restaurant between $2,500 and $3,000 annually.Theft insurance for bicycles is basically impossible to get, so let's say that the restaurant owner self-insures and puts aside $1,000 a year for replacement of stolen bikes, per bike.I won't even mention the cost of health insurance.If we lump together all those expenses that the restaurant owner must pay in order to have the job done properly and in accordance with state labor regulations, it comes to probably more than $50 per $100 in salary. So by flouting the laws and hiring workers off the books and not paying the required insurance, the restaurant owner can basically cut staff costs for delivery by one-third.Once you realize this, that regulations that would apply to the delivery fleet go basically unenforced, it's clear why the deliverymen don't follow the rules of the road; because their managers don't care, and there are no incentives to do so. Looking for ways to discipline (or incentivize) the delivery bicyclists directly without involving their managers is in my opinion fruitless and demeaning; the bicyclists in the delivery fleet are working and their behavior ought to be addressed as a consequence of their conditions of work, not called out on a one-by-one basis.