As the coronavirus death rate in New York City climbed in March, Singaporean Jillian Lye watched in horror when the Elmhurst Hospital Centre, close to her apartment in Queens, brought in a large shipping container to store the bodies of Covid-19 victims.
"It was really scary and the streets were dead silent," said Ms Lye, who has lived in the city for more than three years.
Ms Lye, a physiotherapist, became more afraid when she heard that there was a severe shortage of personal protective equipment and masks in the healthcare sector earlier this year in the city of more than eight million people.
"We had one friend who had to bake her N95 mask in the oven to disinfect it because she only got one every five days," said the 28-year-old, who moved to the Big Apple in 2017 with her Singaporean husband who works in the finance industry.
At its peak earlier this year, more than 11,000 cases were reported in a single day. The coronavirus also claimed more than 1,000 lives on the worst day recorded in New York.
The city has reported more than 250,000 confirmed cases and over 23,000 deaths.
But as other Singaporeans rushed home, Ms Lye and her husband decided to stay put. They were concerned about the 22-hour flight home to Singapore.
"We saw the chaos at JFK (John F. Kennedy International Airport) and saw news about the imported cases in Singapore and thought there was no way we were not going to be infected (while travelling)," she said.
She added: "We figured if we just stayed at home and did not leave, the risk of infection would be way lower than travelling at that time."
Ms Lye said their families did ask them to return initially.
"They were mostly worried about us catching the virus and not being able to get treatment," said Ms Lye, who has undergone at least four Covid-19 swab tests in the last few months. They were all negative.
New York state provides free standard tests for its residents.
Public schools were closed from March 15 with the city imposing stay-at-home orders one week later. It was only in June when restrictions were eased.
Ms Lye, who works with children and the elderly in schools and clinics, started conducting her sessions online. Her husband, an analyst, also started working from home. To reduce the need to leave their home, they would also order groceries online.
"The curve is flatter now, and people are more compliant in wearing masks. So I feel less worried," Ms Lye said, adding that she has so far dined out once.
In recent days, the infection rate has climbed slightly and the city has started tightening restrictions once again.
"Some friends are still very apprehensive, and others are comfortable dining out. But I think for us, we are somewhere in the middle and we still avoid going out unnecessarily," she said.
