La vie en masque
I would like to make a citizen’s arrest. Yesterday, on my way to the supermarket (on two different occasions, I forgot some items on the first run) I noted two police cars (actually, they were Carabinieri, who are supposed to be superior to the Polizia di Stato because they are an arm of the Italian military) parked at the side of the piazza I was crossing. You may have heard that since last week, we have gone back to wearing masks outdoors in all of Italy. Cases are going up significantly (yesterday we were at 5,456, today at 4,619), and the government is beginning to tighten the screws again. Masking is also obligatory inside, unless you are at home with family or alone in an office. The Prime Minister had gone so far as suggesting that you should wear a mask when visiting with friends and family that you don’t live with. The government has instituted fines from €400-1000 for no-maskers and the police has been out in droves checking up on people and dishing out fines. Hence, the two cop cars parked at the side of the piazza. Well, I couldn’t help observing that, on both occasions that I passed them, all four men were sitting in their cars with the masks on their chins, deeply absorbed in their phones. I stopped and stared at one of them for a few seconds, but by the blank look in his eyes I don’t think he understood why I was looking at him. I had to hold myself back from marching up to the car, knocking on the window and giving them a fine. As one of my favorite sayings goes, the fish rots from the head down. Is there any surprise that No-Mask protests are increasing around the country?
As Covid-19 cases go up (though they remain far lower than in France or the UK), so is the frenzy and speculation about what measures the government will take to stem the tide. An emergency meeting of the “Scientific and Technical Committee” was called to discuss various aspects of life, from amateur sports, to parties, to what time bars and restaurants should close. In addition, the government is working on approving new rapid tests and reducing the quarantine period from 14 to 10 days. So, once again we are back to monitoring the news and waiting with bated breath for the announcement of a new decree, which will be handed down any day now. Possibly even tonight. The goal is of course to avoid any further national lockdowns, though, Prime Minister Conte has been quoted saying that if the curve rises significantly, there might have to be some local lockdowns.
On a totally unrelated note, have you seen the Netflix documentary “My Octopus Teacher.”? I really can’t get over it. The photography is astonishing, as is the sheer brilliance of the octopus. I always knew they were clever, but I didn’t realize to what degree. But what I can’t quite decide is if the narrator’s relationship with the octopus is wonderfully moving or kind of absurd. Watch it and get back to me.