This archive report was first published on 7 August 2020.
As the COVID-19 pandemic gripped New York City in March 2020, Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio were locked in a heated debate over whether to shut down the city to slow the spread of the virus. Meanwhile, a family was fighting for the life of their 82-year-old father, Baruch Haviv, who had contracted the disease.
Baruch, a stroke survivor, had been living in Midtown when his daughters, Tamar, Talia, and Elana, noticed he was coughing and had a fever. They quickly got him N95 masks and begged him to stay indoors. But despite their efforts, Baruch's condition worsened, and he was hospitalized on April 8.
Overwhelmed by the city's healthcare system, Baruch was sent back home, only to be diagnosed with COVID-19 the next day. Ten days later, he was readmitted to Mount Sinai West in Manhattan, where his family was forced to communicate with him through Zoom calls due to the hospital's restrictions.
The family's desperation grew as they struggled to make sense of the hospital's decisions and the rapidly changing situation. They were told that their father was dying, but then another doctor said he would make it. Each day brought a new health issue, and the family was forced to make impossible decisions about his care.
Despite the challenges, the hospital allowed one family member, Talia, to visit in person, and the family was able to spend hours together through Zoom calls. But as the days turned into weeks, the family's hopes began to fade. They were told that there was nothing left that the hospital could do for Baruch, and they were asked if they wanted to take him home to die.
It was a decision that would haunt the family for the rest of their lives. They wondered what would have happened if their father had been given plasma a week earlier, and they couldn't help but feel that the government's failure to act had cost him his life.
