Waiting with Bated Breath
It’s the second week of “Phase 2” in Italy and I am watching the infection rate intently. So far, numbers are still declining in most regions, except in Lombardy where there has been a small increase in Bergamo and Brescia, two hotspots. Also, there was an explosion of cases in Molise (a lesser known region in south-central Italy) following a funeral among the Roma community. It’s inevitable that contagion will rise once again (as we’ve seen happening in Germany, and most recently in South Korea), but the question is, how far will the government allow cases to rise before they crack back down. As Ian Jones, a professor of virology of the University of Reading who was interviewed for an article in the Guardian states: “The new phase will be living with Covid, I don’t think the idea that you’re going to get complete clearance [of the virus] is realistic. It’s going to be there at a level, and the question is at what level. What community transfer rates are acceptable to society? And what mitigation strategies can you put in place to make these rates as low as possible?”
Without a doubt people are taking greater liberties than what the latest decree permits, especially given the recent summery weather. Over the weekend I observed plenty of teenagers huddled together on park benches and children playing on the lawns. Quite a few people wear their masks on their chins and elbows rather than over mouth and nose, especially if they are engaging in sport. On May 15th the government will review the numbers of infected people and decide how to proceed for the next phase, and if/whether to bring forward the reopening of restaurants and hairdressers, for example. The guidelines for these reopening have also been set. Restaurants, for example, will have to provide each client with a space of four square meters and tables will have to be at least two meters apart. Families wanting to dine together will be able to present a certificate/disclaimer declaring that they are members of the same household so that they can sit closer together. It’s a good thing I bought a printer at the beginning of this Coronavirus outbreak, because I’ve never had to print so many forms in my life.
Prime minister Conte has made the bold promise that this summer “Italy will go on Holiday”. With summer Italians really mean August. Because he also warned that difficult months lay ahead, as if to say, be good, because we’re not there yet. A government taskforce has been busy creating guidelines for beach clubs. There will have to be at least 5 meters between rows of umbrellas and 2 meters between each sunbed. Pools and play areas will be closed. Reservations will be required at all beach clubs and there will be a cap of people allowed on the public beaches as well. Considering that my summer spot, the island of Capri, is a small rocky island with very few beaches, by my calculation there will be space for about 10 people on the whole island.
The government has also announced that, if all goes well, interregional travel can commence on June 1st. This is only if a 21-point list of criteria has been met by all regions. The list, which I will not repeat here (but if you read Italian you can see here) is focused on monitoring, testing and tracing infections as well as having adequate health/hospital facilities to handle the influx of potentially sick people.
So, now it’s just a game of wait and see. Meanwhile, in addition to cranking out endless guidelines for reopening businesses, the government is also busy trying to corral a few hundred mafia bosses that they “accidentally” released from prison during the outbreak. The mobsters who were old and infirm managed to get out of prison and into house arrest because of health concerns. The embarrassing thing is that quite a few of the bosses were actually serving their sentence in isolation (because they were really bad and dangerous) and were in no actual danger of contracting the virus.
PS. Apropos of nothing, I quite enjoyed some of the short films in this Quarantine Mood short film festival.