Rosemount native, Barry Fielding, and his wife Grace, who hails from Tubber, both now resident in Jersey City in the US, spoke to the Athlone Advertiser this week, as COVID-19 personally impacted upon their daily lives in recent times.
“Presently, we live in Jersey City across the Hudson River from Manhattan where movement has been at a total standstill during the past few weeks.
“Firstly, we had a curfew, where all bars and restaurants shut at 10pm. This only lasted one week as the bars seemed to be even busier than normal up to closing time. All schools and businesses were then shutdown approximately three weeks ago.
For the first two weeks I was still travelling on the subway each day to and from work, which was obviously not ideal! Although most of the city was on lockdown, the trains still seemed to be particularly busy.
“I was starting to get quiet paranoid about the trains especially as they are a breeding ground for the virus. There was a surreal feeling starting off for work in the morning with a mask and gloves! Since last week I have now been working from home full-time, while Grace has been working from home since early March, certainly not ideal in a small apartment,” Barry remarked.
Although both Barry and Grace took all the necessary preventative precautions, Grace tested positive for COVID-19 last week.
“Thankfully her symptoms are pretty mild at present however we are self-isolating for another week to make sure she is fully over it.
“The last few weeks have been very strange. Before all of this started, the city always seemed so busy. Although a lot of people are still out for walks and runs, everyone is conscious to stay a safe distance from each other. It is so surreal to see all shops, bars and restaurants completely shut down,” Barry added.
Barry is concerned with the manner in which the US Government will handle the ongoing and persistent public health crisis.
“A big worry at the moment is how the Government will deal with this crisis. In Ireland, it seems that most people are on the same page. Everyone knows what needs to be done to get over this.
“Currently, we live in New Jersey and work in New York, so we have the Jersey City Mayor, New Jersey Governor, New York Mayor, New York Governor and finally, Donald Trump all making contributions. Unfortunately, they do not always sing from the same hymn sheet! They seem to have different ideas on a daily basis, and this can lead to confusion for the population.
“I think people now realise how serious this situation now is. We just hope that they do not reopen everything too early to restart the economy which seems to be what Trump would like to do if he gets his way,” Barry stressed.
Although a surreal global existence now persists with anxiety levels raised, Barry and Grace remain in close contact with family and friends courtesy of the numerous social media communication channels.
“Communication apps such as Whatsapp, Facetime, Zoom, allow Grace and I the opportunity to speak with our families at home on a daily basis. We also have a large Rosemount contingent over here in New York so we talk regularly and I’m sure we will all meet up when things are back to normal again. We had a few trips home booked for this year for various weddings however these have all been moved to next year so we are not sure if we will get home this year or not.
We hope everybody stays safe at home and hopefully we will all be through it by mid-summer and everything gets back to normal. Ideally, Westmeath winning the Leinster senior football championship and Rosemount winning the Flanagan Cup would be an ideal way to make up for the last few months,” Barry concluded.
