The Covid Entries

Covid Entries
The Covid Entries offer daily reports of the pandemic’s harsh surge in New York City in early spring 2020. The 56 entries provide real time observations of the early weeks when disease and fear transformed the city.

Covid Entries: A History    More info

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* Invitation *

Invitation

Photo: March 29th, 2020 Sixth Avenue

Date: Wednesday, April 1st, 2020 at 4:00 a.m.
Subject: Boorstein has a blog??!!

 

 

 

Sent 4/1/20

First Entry | deaths with no funerals

the city is quiet, worse than 9/11

 


First Entry

Photo: March 6th, 2020
Sixth Avenue Staples

 

 

Sent 4/4/20

Second Entry | a true crisis

knowledge rising, even if slowly

 


Second Entry

Photo: March 15th, 2020
Houston Street

 

 

 

 

 

Sent 4/7/20

Third Entry | trash in empty streets

1970s manufacturing, taxi garage

 


Third Entry

Photo: March 17th, 2020
Prince Street

 

 

 

 

 

Sent 4/9/20

Fourth Entry | fire drill for the apocalypse

wise friend, headed for the hills

 


Fourth Entry

Photo: March 19th, 2020
100 Sullivan Street

 

 

 

 

Sent 4/11/20

Fifth Entry 🔊 | new territory

foghorns, freshly cut plum branches, Central Park

 


Fifth Entry

3/21 Audio Grocery lines, spring blossoms, and barbershops. 5 min.

Photo: March 21st, 2020
Sixth Avenue

 

 

 

Sent 4/12/20

SPECIAL Entry - Easter | boarding up essential work

global news, virus is spreading

 


Special Entry – Easter

Additional Photos

Photo: April 12th, 2020
Prince Street

 

 

 

 

Sent 4/14/20

Sixth Entry | calls from around the country

 


Sixth Entry

Photo: March 23rd, 2020
Sullivan Street

 

 

 

 

 

Originally sent 4/16/20

Seventh Entry | communicated with a glance

 


Seventh Entry

Photo: March 24th, 2020
Sixth Avenue

 

 

 

Originally sent 4/18/20

Eighth Entry | stock market up two thousand points

 

Covid Entry West 21st Street
Eighth Entry

Photo: March 25th, 2020
West 21st Street

 

 

 

 

 

Originally sent 4/20/20

Ninth Entry | a biker's paradise

 


Ninth Entry

Photo: March 26th, 2020
Sullivan Street

 

 

 

 

 

Originally sent 4/22/20

Tenth Entry 🔊 | uniquely ill-equipped

 

Covid Entry Prince Street
Tenth Entry

3/27 Audio Spring Street, Oculus, Hurricane Sandy. 6 min.

Photo: March 27th, 2020
Prince Street

 

 

Originally sent 4/24/20

Eleventh Entry | flimflamery

 

Covid Entry Sixth Avenue
Eleventh Entry

Photo: March 28th, 2020
Sixth Avenue

 

 

 

 

 

Originally sent 4/26/20

Twelfth Entry | a level of unknown

World Trade Center Transportation Hub, first world horrific

 

Covid Entry Oculus
Twelfth Entry

Photo: March 29th, 2020
Oculus

 

 

 

Sent 4/28/20

Thirteenth Entry 🔊 | the audible spectrum

defective masks, things have changed “utterly”, United Nations

 

Covid Entry Sullivan Street
Thirteenth Entry

3/30 Audio The haves and the have nots. 5 min.

Photo: March 30th, 2020
Sullivan Street

 

 

 

Sent 4/30/20

Fourteenth Entry 🔊 | gatherings are evaporating

begging for health care workers, projected deaths

 


Fourteenth Entry

3/31 Audio Springtime, flowering trees, six feet apart. 3 min.

Photo: March 31st, 2020
Sixth Avenue

 

 

Sent 5/2/20

Fifteenth Entry | what does it take to change a place?

toilet paper demand, “informed projections”

 


Fifteenth Entry

Photo: April 1st, 2020
Prince Street

 

 

 

 

 

Sent 5/4/20

Sixteenth Entry | one cannot live forever

ethical guidelines, canned goods, throwing stuff away

 


Sixteenth Entry

Photo: April 2nd, 2020
Thompson Street

 

 

 

 

 

Sent 5/6/20

Seventeenth Entry 🔊 | some things change more quickly

masks, confirmed cases

 


Seventeenth Entry

4/3 Audio 1
Eye contact, clang – clunk, a train car to yourself.
6 min.

4/3 Audio 2
Tulips, kindly garbage trucks, mood shift. 2 min.

Photo: April 3rd, 2020
West 21st Street

 

Sent 5/8/20

Eighteenth Entry | plans and endings

quiet spring, Empire State Building

 


Eighteenth Entry

Photo: April 4th, 2020
Sixth Avenue

 

 

 

 

 

Sent 5/10/20

Nineteenth Entry | singular sound

some absences more notable than others, eye contact

 


Nineteenth Entry

Photo: April 5th, 2020
Sixth Avenue

 

 

 

 

 

Sent 5/12/20

Twentieth Entry | the same place and a different place

a different life, lack of planning, SoHo

 


Twentieth Entry

Photo: April 6th, 2020
Greene Street

 

 

 

 

 

Sent 5/14/20

Twenty-first Entry | "chance operation"

Trader Joe’s line, temporary morgues

 


Twenty-first Entry

Photo: April 7th, 2020
Prince Street

 

 

 

 

 

Sent 5/16/20

Twenty-second Entry | normal now needs to be defined

death toll, flags at half-mast

 


Twenty-second Entry

Photo: April 8th, 2020
Sixth Avenue

 

 

 

Sent 5/18/20

Twenty-third Entry 🔊 | new term - "social distancing"

government relief, New York and Venice, prisons

 


Twenty-third Entry

4/9 Audio April showers, seeing the wind, horn honk. 2 min.

Photo: April 9th, 2020
MacDougal Street

 

Sent 5/20/20

Twenty-fourth Entry 🔊 | urban isolation chamber

feeling lost, Yemen and aide programs, Notre Dame

 


Twenty-fourth Entry

4/10 Audio Goldberg variations, prelude 1, interlude in a quiet city. 3 min.

Photo: April 10th, 2020
Rent Bill

 

 

 

Sent 5/22/20

Twenty-fifth Entry | cigarette butts

good habits, the MET, “hero”

 


Twenty-fifth Entry

Photo: April 11th, 2020
West Broadway

 

Sent 5/24/20

SPECIAL Entry - Mid


Special Entry – Mid

Additional Photos

Photo: May 5th, 2020
Spring Street

 

Sent on 5/28/20

Twenty-sixth Entry | a darkly cloaked gift

an opportunity, a disruption, what makes each of us tick

 


Twenty-sixth Entry

Photo: April 12th, 2020
Mercer Street

 

Sent 5/31/20

SPECIAL Entry - Post-Break


Special Entry – Post-Break

Additional Photos

Photo: June 3rd, 2020
Sixth Avenue

 

 

 

 

Sent 6/15/20

Twenty-seventh Entry | covid dreams

lugging stolen toilet paper in a bed sheet, analogies to war

 

Twenty-seventh Entry

Photo: April 13th, 2020
Madison Street

 

 

 

 

 

Sent 6/19/20

Twenty-eighth Entry 🔊 | gasoline under $2.00 per gallon

eye contact, false negative tests, prisoners

 


Twenty-eighth Entry

4/14 Audio Tax day, Jefferson Market Library, six bells. 1 min.

Photo: April 14th, 2020
Broome Street

Sent 6/23/20

Twenty-ninth Entry | eating a bush

haircuts, subway ridership, take-out

 


Twenty-ninth Entry

Photo: April 15th, 2020
Worth Street

 

 

 

 

 

Sent 6/27/20

Thirtieth Entry | losing a simple human gesture

the quiet of the morning remains delicious, job loss, masks

 


Thir
tieth Entry

Photo: April 16th, 2020
Grand Street

 

 

 

 

 

Sent 7/1/20

Thirty-first Entry | a familiar strangeness

stillness, refridgerated trailers, riding the wrong way

 


Thirty-first Entry

Photo: April 17th, 2020
Bleecker Street

 

 

 

 

 

Sent 7/5/20

Thirty-second Entry | illegal jogging

testing, vaccines for common diseases

 

Thirty-second Entry

Photo: April 18th, 2020
Spring Street

 

 

 

Sent 7/9/20

Thirty-third Entry | one's heartbreak is another's delight

high temperatures, paycheck protection program

 

Thirty-third Entry

Photo: April 19th, 2020 Greene Street

 

 

 

Sent 7/13/20

Thirty-fourth Entry | you cannot make this stuff up

point of reference, free oil

 

Thirty-fourth Entry

Photo: April 20th, 2020
Greene Street

 

 

 

 

Sent 7/17/20

Thirty-fifth Entry | savoring an absence

boarded up clothing stores, eye contact, 9-11 memorial

 


Thirty-fifth Entry

Photo: April 21st, 2020
West Street

 

 

 

Sent 7/21/20

Thirty-sixth Entry | morgue trucks keep humming

restaurants, airlines, military readiness

 

Thirty-sixth Entry

Photo: April 22nd, 2020
Sixth Avenue

 

 

 

 

 

Sent on 7/25/20

Thirty-seventh Entry | throwing things away

the media, student-teacher relations

 

Thirty-seventh Entry

Photo: April 23rd, 2020
Canal Street

 

 

 

 

 

Sent on 7/29/20

Thirty-eighth Entry | the non-reversing mirror

haircutting, re-opening, lysol cocktail

 


Thirty-eighth Entry

Photo: April 24th, 2020
West 21st Street

 

 

 

Sent on 8/2/20

Thirty-ninth Entry | freedom over saftey

alone, restaurants, reinfections

 

Thirty-ninth Entry

Photo: April 25th, 2020
Sullivan Street

 

 

 

Sent 8/6/20

Fortieth Entry | injecting disinfectants

Hubble space telescope, gas prices, covid testing

 


Fortieth Entry

Photo: April 26th, 2020
Broadway

 

Sent 8/10/20

Forty-first Entry | food insecure

May chill, unemployment, all we need is lip service

 


Forty-first Entry

Photo: April 27th, 2020
Seventh Avenue

 

Sent 8/14/20

Forty-second Entry 🔊 | defense production and pork

normal in fall 2021, testing, the working class

 


Forty-second Entry

4/28 Audio Flowering trees, NYC as a village, Soho’s next chapter. 3 min.

Photo: April 28th, 2020
Prince Street

Sent 9/20/20

Forty-third Entry 🔊 | the crystal ball is cloudy

sidewalks, Boeing, partisan news

 


Forty-third Entry

4/29 Audio Late night, out of balance, Mister Mister can I have a dollar. 2 min.

Photo: April 29th, 2020
Avenue C

 

 

 

Sent 9/24/20

Forty-fourth Entry | cloud of safety, blanket of fear

tractor-trailer morgues, subway

 


Forty-fourth Entry

Photo: April 30th, 2020
Elizabeth Street

 

 

 

 

 

Sent 9/28/20

Forty-fifth Entry 🔊 | some things do not change

the phone, ICU, Indian Point Nuclear Reactor

 


Forty-fifth Entry

5/1 Audio Popular restaurants, Washington Sq Park skating sink, flags at half mast. 2 min.

Photo: May 1st, 2020
Mott Street

 

 

 

 

Sent 10/2/20

Forty-sixth Entry | this place may need noise

riot of color, a gift

Joker

Forty-sixth Entry

4/1 Audio Popular restaurants, Washington Sq Park skating sink, Flags at half mast. 2 min.

Photo: May 1st, 2020
Spring Street

 

Sent 10/6/20

Forty-seventh Entry | a delightful unnecessary transaction

Kentucky Derby, Spring Street, hand written Covid signs

 

Forty-seventh Entry

Photo: May 2nd, 2020
Prince Street

 

 

Sent 10/10/20

Forty-eighth Entry | the lower east river

homeless encampment and art gallery, perimeter of Manhattan island

 


Forty-eighth Entry

Photo: May 3rd, 2020
West 21st Street

 

Sent 10/14/20

Forty-ninth Entry | another lesson of what is essential

rats, the Supreme Court, experts

 


Forty-ninth Entry

Photo: May 4th, 2020
West 23rd Street

 

Sent 10/18/20

Fiftieth Entry | information is a kind of noise

George Floyd, Vietnam War, May 4th Massacre

 

Fiftieth Entry

Photo: May 5th, 2020
3rd Avenue

 

 

 

 

 

Sent 10/22/20

Fifty-first Entry | the soundscape continues to expand

varied standards, primary election, 24 hour service

 

Fifty-first Entry

Photo: May 6th, 2020
Sixth Avenue

 

 

 

Sent  10/26/20

Fifty-second Entry 🔊 | how we adapt reveals who we are

green shades, noise has returned

 

Fifty-second Entry

4/1 Audio Popular restaurants, Washington Sq Park skating sink, Flags at half mast. 2 min.

Photo: May 7th, 2020
Eighth Avenue

 

 

 

Sent 10/30/20

SPECIAL Entry – Final

Joker

Special Entry – Final

Photo: 2019 Postcard by John Amber

 

Sent 12/1/20