Covid-19 Account from Italy

[Marco_Tosin]

(Originally posted as a reply to the PTCooler thread titled  Even Backwards It's Still Pi Day )  

I thought a little before writing, but after the images I saw yesterday on television of some American airports with thousands of people crushed like sardines waiting for the controls, I decided to do it.

I live in one of the two regions of northern Italy most affected by the coronavirus, about 50 km from one of the two initial outbreaks (one 100 km from Venice and the other 50 km from Milan).

In these two villages (3-4000 inhabitants) the authorities immediately decided to close everything and confine the residents to their homes for two weeks.
The results were seen because after this period there were no more infected people.

At the moment 80 percent of the deaths are of people with an average age of 80 years and 70 percent are men.

In one of the new hotbeds, Piacenza, there were 29 deaths on Friday.

A local journalist did a search to find out when there had been other peaks of deaths in the past and found that only during the Second World War had reached half (15 deaths) in a single day.

In another small village in the province of Bergamo there were 50 deaths in three weeks, while in the same period of last year there were only 8.

https://it.euronews.com/2020/03/16/coronavirus-alzano-lombardo-numero-morti-sindaco

And we are talking about the two most economically advanced regions of Italy with the best healthcare systems in the country (free for all).

In a few days the problem will explode in the south, where there are far fewer intensive care beds in hospitals.

Those who initially spoke of a slightly stronger influence only made the population underestimate the danger.

Where I live (in tne center of Veneto) they started swabbing, at random, outside supermarkets because many people are infected but asymptomatic.

People die in hospitals without being able to see their families and vice versa, and are buried without mass and only with the closest relatives.

In the province of Bergamo the local newspaper yesterday had 10 pages of obituaries while normally it is only one and, since there are no more places in the morgues, they are putting the coffins in the churches.

I'm not writing this to make terrorism, but just to tell our experience hoping that, where the virus will strike next, you can treasure it.

[Jaime_Lee]

@Marco_Tosin  Thank you for sharing such a detailed post about what is happening in Italy.

My heart aches for you and those around the world suffering.  I will keep your family in my prayers.(Is 41:10)

[Marco_Tosin]

Hi @Jaime_Lee and @LoriSood,
first of all I wanted to thank you for your prayers and support, don't think it's so obvious to receive it.

In Italy there are many people angry with the other European countries, especially France and Germany, because they have painted us as the anointers of Europe, even if it is certified that the first case in Italy came from Germany.

Other countries, such as Switzerland, Slovenia and Austria have closed their borders, blocking in Italy thousands of trucks loaded with goods, most of them with drivers from Eastern Europe.

In addition, many of the necessary products, especially masks and respirators, are blocked by production or transit countries and have difficulty getting to us.

It is only since this week, despite what has been happening here for over a month, that the other European countries have woken up and understood what action to take to limit the spread of the contagion.

I think that right now there are no Reds and Blues (I think you know what I mean), whites and blacks, rich and poor, educated and ignorant, young and old, believers or atheists, because the virus does not know the categories we created.

We are all people who should help each other in this difficult moment, maybe looking at the experiences made by those who have been affected before the others.

In many parts of Italy, for example, boys at home from school have organized themselves to go food shopping and take it home to the elderly.

This is the reason why I wrote yesterday and I replied today.

Thanks again for your support and may the Lord bless you.

[James62]

Hello Marco,

First of all, I wish you, your family, your friends and your country to get though these difficult times as soon as possible.

Sadly, the European Union is very apathetic to the spread of the disease, which will make matters only worse in upcoming months. That said not only in Italy, as the disease is already everywhere in western Europe.

Here in Czech republic the goods coming from Italy are already scarce. No wonder it's the same the other way going into Italy. All of the individual government bodies of EU are putting their noses into everything that goes through their territory and are shutting down services for any other country. Regardless that the other country is part of the EU.

It's exactly as you explained. Bellow is an article about ridiculous matter of gift, from China to Italy in form of medical help, being stopped in a warehouse in Czech republic.

https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.novinky.cz%2Fzahranicni%2Fkoronavirus%2Fclanek%2Fzabavene-respiratory-v-lovosicich-byly-cerveneho-krize-40317481

Right now our government is saying something like "We've implemented some restrictions" (that are purely passive or sort of defensive and don't go for the cause, that is to actively help other countries) "and we're gonna wait for about a month to see if the curve, which describes the outbreak on our territory, happens to be in a not so exponential shape as it currently is".

In my own eyes this situation is outrageous. Where is anybody repeatedly and endlessly explaining how China turned the thing around and where are we actively doing it?

Thank you for shedding a bit of light into the situation.

Regards,

~J

[Marco_Tosin]

Hello James62,

a little late, but I wanted to thank you for your support.

I come back to some of the things you wrote because I hope that, after a week, the things that are happening all over the world, now even the U.S.A. has very high numbers of infected people, wake up the minds of those who have to decide how to behave.

By now the problem is global and the solutions cannot be local, otherwise we will never be able to get out of the situation we have fallen into.

At least for the people who read this community I wanted to add the links to three articles, two of which have already been translated into English, so that it is understandable how this pandemic is changing people's perspectives and what problems people in hospitals are facing.

The first article is by an Italian reporter who, in the last 40 years, has witnessed all the main theaters of war in the world and is the story of a day spent in the emergency room and intensive care unit of Bergamo, the city from which the coffins with the dead were taken away by army trucks.

https://www.ilgiornale.it/news/politica/strappare-vite-morte-nella-rianimazione-bergamo-1845633.html

The second is a study carried out by the CEO of a medical centre and the mayor of Nembro, the town that currently has the highest percentage of deaths compared to the population.

https://www.corriere.it/politica/20_marzo_26/the-real-death-toll-for-covid-19-is-at-least-4-times-the-official-numbers-b5af0edc-6eeb-11ea-925b-a0c3cdbe1130.shtml

The last article, without wanting to proselytize, is the testimony that a journalist has collected from a doctor who works in a hospital in Lombardy.

https://www.marcotosatti.com/2020/03/21/the-cry-of-a-doctor-in-lombardy-about-the-virus-death-and-god/

Good luck to everyone and take care of yourself and your loved ones.

[Jaime_Lee]

@Marco_Tosin and @James62 

Thank you for continuing to share your accounts with the PTC Community. 

Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

[LoriSood]

Thanks for sharing your experience and insight, Marco. It's heartbreaking to see and read how this is impacting the heavy hit areas, and I only hope that the rest of us listen and take note so that we can minimize the impact in our own areas. 

I live outside of Houston, Texas, and it's still pretty early in the spread here. They've started to close things down and limit gatherings. Schools are closed for a month, grocery stores are limiting hours and supplies because there has been a huge run on getting certain items, certain social places like bars and clubs are closed, restaurants are only offering delivery or take away, companies are having people work from home, and large gathering events have been canceled--they are encouraging 10 or fewer in gatherings. Our church services have been canceled for the foreseeable future, and many other churches have done the same or gone with online services. It's probably not enough yet to stop the spread, but it's a start, and I keep hoping that we all do our part to be smart about this.

I pray for those families that have been impacted, and I hope you and your family and friends stay safe!