The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused much disruption and suffering throughout the world. In a little over two months, our individual lives and wider society have changed in unimaginable ways. We’ve seen the cancellation and postponement of events, closure of businesses, suspension of travel, social distancing, lockdowns, and other measures that have been taken to slow the spread of the virus; all done so as to keep people safe and prevent healthcare systems from being overwhelmed.
Yet, for all of our efforts, this virus has continued spreading and claiming lives, and among the countries that have been hardest is Italy. Italy was the first major epicenter of COVID-19 outside of China, and as the month of March progressed, the world looked on as Italy went into a nation-wide lockdown, experiencing a surge in cases which resulted in hospitals being overcrowded and healthcare workers being pushed to the limit in a unending battle to save lives. Every day, we heard about their heroic efforts in difficult circumstances, but we also watched on in horror as the number of cases, and subsequently deaths, spiraled out of control on a daily basis. As of this writing, Italy has over 222,000 confirmed cases and 31,100 fatalities due to COVID-19, which has shown no mercy with respect to national boundaries.
Here, in America, our trajectory, rather unfortunately, has been like that of Italy, but with our population being significantly higher, that means millions of cases and potentially hundreds of thousands of deaths even under the best-case scenario.
However, in the face of all of this, people across the United States have stepped up to ‘flatten the curve’ and help to ensure that the spread is more gradual and limited. Furthermore, from those volunteering their time and money, to our military – aiding with hospital ships and handing out supplies – and most crucially, to the doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who have been on the front lines, putting their own lives on the line, we are witnessing an effort not unlike that of fighting a war against this virus.
Amongst those in the echelons of government leading the fight are three Italian-Americans – Dr. Anthony Fauci, Mayor Bill de Blasio, and Governor Andrew Cuomo. Together, they have become increasingly prominent throughout this crisis. This has been a result of their positions of responsibility and influence, and stewardship of areas hardest hit by COVID-19, and also their frequent appearances on national media.
Dr. Anthony Fauci has gained particular notoriety as being a leading member of the presidential task force on coronavirus. At 79 years old, he has been the Director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) since 1984. He has served under six presidents, which means that he has had an active role in dealing with every major infectious outbreak over the past five decades – including HIV/AIDS, SARS, MERS, Avian Flu, H1N1, Ebola, and Zika. This wealth of experience has endeared him to his peers in the scientific community, and has earned him the respect of political figures on both sides of the aisle. As a result, when he is called in to advise the president and speak to the nation, he steps into the role with an enormous amount of credibility.
At his heart, Dr. Fauci is a researcher and practicing physician, and has personally treated patients himself during his tenure at NIAID because, as he put it, “I do believe that one gets unique insights into disease when you actually physically interact with patients.” He has felt the need to lead by example to his staff in the course of saving lives, which he describes as “very satisfying and gratifying.” Nonetheless, arguably his most crucial role has been to administer his agency in the fight against infectious diseases, and to advise presidents during times of crisis. In the present crisis, one can imagine this grandson of Sicilian immigrants not merely delivering forthright and honest opinions to the President, but also demonstrating willing to engage in intense debates with the President and other officials, on the shaping of public policy in his distinguishable Brooklyn accent in a way that only an outer-borough New York Italian can.
Nevertheless, despite his notoriety (including an appearance on the Colbert Report in 2011) and meeting with the likes of Mother Teresa, Bono, and high-ranking politicians, he comes off as a humble man who has come a long way from the sidewalks of New York. In his public appearances at the White House and elsewhere, he has generally been received and lauded as steady, articulate, and a voice of reason – all while still being candid and grounded in science about the realities of COVID-19, and imploring the public to respond appropriately to this pandemic, which is likely his toughest challenge and will define his legacy.
Meanwhile, in Dr. Fauci’s home-state and city of New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio have been dealing with the largest outbreak, thus far, in the country – with 338,000 cases across the state (around one-quarter of the confirmed cases in the United States) and 21,900 deaths. The city itself has been the national epicenter of the virus with 192,000 cases and 19,800 deaths.
As mayor of the largest city in the country, the Manhattan-born de Blasio arguably has the toughest job of any elected official aside from the President. At the height of this crisis in New York, he presided over the largest single concentration of suffering, which forced the City That Never Sleeps to all but shut down and reduce itself to the stark silence of empty streets, save for the blaring sirens of ambulances rushing people to the hospitals. Indeed, the story about New York City during this pandemic was one of hospitals being overwhelmed and healthcare workers, at all levels, being pressed to the limit in circumstances not of their choosing, and then having to witness the fallout ‘up close and personal,’ while still having to be concerned about their own loved ones.
All of this is a testament to the severity of the crisis, which has shined a light on the city, Mayor de Blasio, and his handling of the crisis, as temporary hospital capacity was expanded via convention centers, sports stadiums, the USNS Comfort, and even Central Park to take on the ever-increasing numbers of cases.
On the New York state level, Governor Cuomo, in office since 2011, has emerged with an enhanced national profile due to his leadership of the fourth largest state in the Union. A native of Queens, his coordination of the pandemic response resulted in the vast expansion of hospital capacity throughout the state, via the re-purposing of government facilities and the shifting of resources to where they were most needed. He has also been working in partnership with the federal government on the needs and priorities of New York, as well as with the governors of other northeast states to coordinate the closure and now reopening of bars, restaurants, and other non-essential businesses – particularly in the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut – so as to enforce “stay-at-home” orders and prevent people from crossing state borders to access services outside of their respective states.
However, it has been through his daily press briefings that most Americans have been getting to know the three-term governor. The briefings – now almost as important as the President’s – have consisted of Cuomo with PowerPoint presentations delivering information on the state of the pandemic in New York, updates on the state government’s response, guidance for the citizens as to how they can access government resources, and making requests of the federal government for assistance. They have also featured his blunt assessments of not only the situation in New York, but also across the country at large, and his exhortations to the public about what they ought to be doing, as well as warning that what has been happening to New York will happen elsewhere.
On top of all this are Cuomo’s personal thoughts and reflections, rich in compassion and emotion, in which he has brought up his family – regaling the nation with stories about his sisters, brother, mother and late father, former New York governor Mario Cuomo, as well as talking about how the crisis has brought him closer to his children. From this vantage point, he has implored others to take advantage of this period of self-isolation to self-reflect, encourage better relations with family, setting other priorities straight, as well as engaging in long-delayed activities and projects – all of which has added a therapeutic and healing quality to the briefings. At one point, he lovingly paid tribute to his younger brother Chris, a CNN journalist who, himself, contracted coronavirus, and has held him up as an example of how this disease is the “great equalizer” affecting people regardless of their background, yet still finding ways to poke fun at his expense. Indeed, the banter – sometimes argumentative – between the Cuomo brothers (with the governor appearing on his brother’s CNN show, and Chris appearing by video at one of the governor’s briefings) has been cited as being ‘what we all need at this time,’ as only two outer-borough New York Italian brothers can deliver.
It ought to be emphasized that, in this time of crisis and uncertainty, Americans of all backgrounds have been rising to the occasion and coming together to make incredible efforts to fight the virus – from rank-and-file first responders, nurses, doctors, and other healthcare workers on the frontlines receiving and taking care of those infected, to business leaders and government officials making macro-level decisions on essential supplies and public policy. Indeed, as this moment in our history has unfolded, it has been encouraging to see the extensive and rich tapestry of America on full display, with just about every role filled by European and African-Americans, Hispanics and Asians, male and female, young and old, Christians and Jews, Muslims and Hindus, native and immigrant, and many others – some of whom are descended from countries that have also experienced the ravages of this virus, including the first epicenter, China.
The second epicenter, Italy, has been particularly hard hit and it is, therefore, interesting that, by coincidence, some of our prominent leaders against the pandemic in America happen to be of Italian descent – this also includes Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House of Representatives who, in just under two months, has helped to mold and shepherd four separate legislative packages through Congress, which form part of the federal response to the pandemic.
On a more personal note, one of my best friends is also Italian-American, and she and her family have been watching and listening to the developments in Italy with sadness, and a feeling that can only be felt by having connections – blood and otherwise – to that country. They, as well as I and the whole country also witnessed the tragedy of the Fusco family of New Jersey, of whom seven members contracted the virus, four died within days of each other, and at least 20 others self-quarantined. My hope that this article may be of some comfort and inspiration to them, and to others throughout the Italian diaspora that some of their own are honoring their beleaguered ancestral homeland by providing invaluable service to their native land in America.