by I am in a city with a curfew (enforced ?) where only pharmacies, supermarkets and those stores where someone from China sells all sorts of household stuff are open. Rome hasn’t reached the dread levels of Wuhan and Milan, but the Italian government is trying to get ahead of the curve. It is strange and alarming that there is little traffic (it is also impressive that Romans don’t obey the traffic code even when there is little traffic). People are really trying to stay home all the time (I was semi home bound before it was cool). I have learned about the activities which people consider absolutely necessary. A large fraction of people walking around are walking dogs. Many people are wearing masks (absolutely sold out everywhere) and gloves. I discover
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I am in a city with a curfew (enforced ?) where only pharmacies, supermarkets and those stores where someone from China sells all sorts of household stuff are open. Rome hasn’t reached the dread levels of Wuhan and Milan, but the Italian government is trying to get ahead of the curve.
It is strange and alarming that there is little traffic (it is also impressive that Romans don’t obey the traffic code even when there is little traffic). People are really trying to stay home all the time (I was semi home bound before it was cool).
I have learned about the activities which people consider absolutely necessary. A large fraction of people walking around are walking dogs. Many people are wearing masks (absolutely sold out everywhere) and gloves. I discover there are some things I have to touch. These include an ATM (alarmingly often) and cash.
One striking thing is that people wait outside of the supermarkets and pharmacies. This is a rule that does not have to be enforced — people are scared. Good thing it’s not cold in Rome during March (or February or actually ever at all in the globally warmed year of our lord 2019/2020). This makes me notice the high rates of infection in Iceland and Norway. I guess up there (where I have been in July with a rain coat) the choice is risk of Covid 19 or of frostbite.
The extreme measures (not just ordered but orders which are actually obeyed, by Romans) are impressive because as of the day before yesterday there were only 200 cases in Lazio (region which includes Rome). The fact that one of the cases was governor Zingaretti (also head of the Italian Democratic Party) might have made a difference.
The news spreads even faster than the virus. Down here the health care system is under strain but not overwhelmed (yet) but people read about (and see on TV) reports on how in Lombardy Triage has reaquired it’s original meaning. During World War I, It was red = critical, yellow = serious monitor but not critical, black = doomed. In normal times black now means deceased.
In Lois Armstrong Airport New Orleans during Katrina there were living people with black tags (for will not survive a flight and so will die here). I was appalled. Now in parts of Northern Italy there aren’t enough respirators for patients who would die without one. This is part of why the Italian case fatality rate is high. It is also important that Italians have had low fertility for decades and are old on average.
I guess I haven’t written anything that people don’t know already. I will update when the wave of contagion overwhelms us. I fear that I will be giving readers a hint of future action in their home town.