For all the ink spent in praise of human grit and resilience, our fearlessness and indefatigability, the real ribbon that ties us together is a collective hope that, in the end, everything will be O.K. As the devastating impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak has shut down cities (and entire nations) worldwide, New Yorkers—their city on the cusp of crisis—are adjusting to an anxious new reality with varying degrees of resistance. During this past weekend, bars and restaurants were packed with customers ostentatiously flaunting a defiance of health officials’ urgent warnings that social distancing is vital to slowing the virus’s spread. (On Sunday night, Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered the city’s bars and restaurants to close for all but takeout and delivery.) Many others were already in self-isolation, staying indoors and working from home, hoping that early social distancing would speed the city’s return to normality.

Plenty of New Yorkers—including health-care providers, delivery couriers, and transportation workers—don’t have the luxury of withdrawing from the public, even if they desire to. One group that’s possibly busier than ever are the employees of the city’s grocery stores, one of the few types of businesses that remain open. At supermarkets across the city, shoppers have thronged the aisles, some anxiously provisioning for weeks of bunkering at home, others simply (and, perhaps, defiantly) going about their normal routines.