Cambria Heights man warns of COVID-19 danger
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.14 COM | APRIL 17-APRIL 23, 2020
Club House at the Aqueduct
Race Track parking
lot and a walk-in testing
facility would open at
a health care center in
Jamaica. Cuomo’s announcement
came after
the city health department
statistics showed
that COVID-19 was disproportionately
killing
Latino and black New
Yorkers.
“I wasn’t surprised by
those numbers, I wasn’t
shocked at all by those
stats,” Johnson said.
“There has always been
a lack of resources here
in southeast Queens.
It’s a healthy food desert
— a supermarket just
closed here in Cambria
Heights. But there’s a big
lack of access to health
care. From Day One we
should have been testing
at Roy Wilkins Park.
We have concerts there
but no testing. We are always
at the bottom of the
barrel when it comes to
resources and we have to
address this properly going
forward.”
Meanwhile, Johnson
is begging the younger
generation in southeast
Queens to pay attention
to what happened to
him.
“At 29 years old, I
would never have imagined
being diagnosed
with coronavirus. I want
young adults and Millennials
to be informed that
the risks of contracting
the virus are not based
on age, race, nor gender,”
Johnson said. “It seems
this information has not
been highlighted enough,
being that the virus has
no age requirements.
COVID-19 is knocking on
everyone’s door, we need
to make sure we don’t answer.
I am asking young
adults and Millenials
to please educate yourselves,
take precautions,
stay healthy, safe, and
self-quarantine to prevent
contracting the virus
or spreading it.”
Johnson already suffered
from asthma so the
virus has hit him harder.
He’s had a high fever,
severe headaches, excessive
coughing, body
aches, loss of smell, and
extreme weight loss at
nearly 20 pounds.
“Although there isn’t
a cure for COVID-19,
together, we can flatten
the curve,’ Johnson
said. “Whether you have
symptoms or not, the
virus can lie dormant
in your system. Please
practice social distancing
and understand the
importance of prevention
and quarantining. It
is imperative to remain
calm, continue to utilize
social media to remain
informed on the latest
news, and community
resources. Mostly, please
stay home.”
Reach reporter Bill
Parry by e-mail at bparry@
schnepsmedia.com
or by phone at (718) 260–
4538.
BY BILL PARRY
A Cambria Heights
community organizer
is sounding the COVID-
19 alarm to Millennials
and Generation Z across
southeast Queens.
James Johnson, 29, is
urging the young people
in the community to take
the pandemic seriously
as he himself suffers
from the virus in quarantine.
“These young simply
don’t realize how important
it is to stay at home,”
Johnson said. “People
are home from college
and they’re going to
parties every night and
they have to understand
how serious this is. They
might be bringing the
virus home to their parents
and maybe even
their grandparents.”
Johnson, the founder
of Opportunities for
Southeast Queens Millenials,
began feeling the
symptoms of coronavirus
on March 16 but he
listened to Mayor Bill
de Blasio say that those
with flu-like symptoms
should stay home.
“By March 25, I
couldn’t breathe. I knew
I wouldn’t be able to get
tested at Jamaica Hospital
because it was already
overrun so I drove
myself to Long Island
Jewish in Valley Stream,
Long Island, to get tested
at 4 a.m.,” Johnson said.
“There simply are not
enough testing sites for
the people of southeast
Queens. It’s a transit
desert and most people
cannot get to Aqueduct if
they don’t have a car.”
Governor Andrew
Cuomo announced
April 9 that a new drivethrough
mobile testing
facility opened at the
organizer is
sounding the COVID-19
alarm to Community organizer James Johnson warns his peers
that COVID-19 can strike them too if they don’t act
more responsibly. Courtesy of James Johnson
STRENGTH
HAS A PLAN.
We empower her to do things
she would not do on her own.
SEE WHAT’S POSSIBLE
WHEN HEALTH CARE
GETS PERSONAL.
Are you getting the most
out of your Medicare plan?
villagecaremax.org
Call to enroll or make an in-person appointment
1-800-469-6292 (TTY 711)
8 am to 8 pm, 7 days a week
* Premium, co-pays, coinsurance and deductibles may vary based on the
level of Extra Help you receive. Please contact plan for further details.
/schnepsmedia.com
link
link
/villagecaremax.org
