 |
| Italian towns, including ours, are flying flags at half mast in honor of the dead. |
We have been in frequent touch with Pam and Romano, the long-time friends who inspired us to choose Fidenza as our Italian base in the first place. Happily they are both all right, as are their families. A few weeks ago their reports of what was going on in town seemed the stuff of science fiction. Now it's becoming a story that doesn't seem quite so strange, since it's becoming our story, too.
Italy was way ahead of the United States in responding to the coronavirus threat, but in retrospect its response rolled out too slowly. The country declared a national emergency on Jan. 31, but small towns in the north that suddenly began seeing outbreaks weren't quarantined until Feb. 23, when carnival and some large sports events were also ordered canceled. Schools were closed on March 4 and the three hard-hit northern regions--Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, and Veneto--were locked down on March 8. The next day the lockdown was extended to the whole country, but restaurants and bars weren't closed until two days later and "non-essential" businesses weren't shuttered until March 22.
The hesitant response and the fact that Italy's population is the oldest in Europe are two reasons COVID-19 has hit the country so hard. As of today, Italy has over 100,000 reported cases and over 11,000 deaths.
Many of our American friends are glad that we're here and not there, given the grim headlines. But I'm not sure we're actually better off. The fact that the United States has responded to the crisis even more slowly, and with vastly less seriousness, indicates that collectively we in the U.S. will face death and destruction on an even vaster scale as the pandemic rolls forward. The U.S. is already up to 144,000 cases as of today, and the death toll just passed 2,500.
The most recent tally from Fidenza is that 19 residents have died, but that number is from four days ago, so by now the death toll is undoubtedly in the 20s at least. The local paper is full of obituaries for prominent citizens--a soccer coach, a geneticist, an electrician, a priest.
Fidenza's hospital had just completed an expansion at the end of last year and had about 200 beds, but two weeks ago over a hundred more were added, including more ICU beds. Then a few days later the town announced that the hospital would now only treat the flood of COVID-19 patients; all others would be redirected to the hospital in Parma, a half-hour away. "It is a huge sacrifice," said Fidenza's mayor, Andrea Massari, "but even more a huge responsibility on which the fates of many families and many people depend."
Restrictions on Americans, even in California, are mild compared to what has been imposed on Italians in an effort to slow the spread of the virus. There any movement out of your town or your home province is prohibited unless required for work or some other urgent reason, and police are stopping people on the road to demand proof that they're not moving around illegally. Fidenza police are strictly enforcing the lockdown in town, where people are allowed to go outside only to buy food or go to the pharmacy.
Pam and Romano live on the same street we do, the main drag, a wide pedestrian-only thoroughfare lined with stores, bars, and markets. Usually it's full of the noise that Italians make when they're together, lots of loud talking and loud laughter and excited greetings. Now, Pam says, the street is empty and the only sound is ambulance sirens rushing people to the local hospital.
That struck me as horrifying. But today people in New York City are saying the same thing.
The penalties for violating Fidenza's lockdown rules are stiff. Pam has a certificate allowing her to go for a walk every day, for health reasons, but she can't go more than 100 meters from home, which means her only choice is to circle her block six times to get her steps in. People who are caught going out without authorization or meeting others can be fined 400 to 3,000 euros (about $440 to $3,000), more if the violation involves using a car, and doubled for a second offense.
Those who've tested positive but leave home despite being quarantined face up to five years in prison (although that would seem to pose its own public-health dangers). So far 45 people have been charged with violating the lockdown rules, according to the local paper, which didn't specify which violations and what penalties. Meanwhile businesses that are caught opening illegally will be forced to remain closed for between 5 and 30 days after the lockdown is over. In other words, they will have to remain closed while everyone else opens up again.
The town website announced that tomorrow Mayor Massari will be in the main piazza, presumably alone, at noon, with the flag at half mast, as part of a national moment of silence in memory of those killed by COVID-19, in sympathy with their families, and in honor of the nurses, doctors, and other health-care workers fighting the virus. A moment of silence seems very poignant in the midst of the greater silence of a town, and a country, that has had to be shut down so completely.
