L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS shut all stores except for pharmacies and food shops. This desolate atmosphere evokes the memory of a his- torical novel Italians read in high school as part of our c o m p u l s o r y e d u c a t i o n : Alessandro Manzoni's The Betrothed. The mas- terpiece is set in 17th centu- r y L o m b a r d y u n d e r t h e S p a n i s h r u l e , w h e n t h e p l a g u e s p r e a d d u r i n g Milan's epidemic of 1630, k i l l i n g t w o - t h i r d s o f t h e population. Those figures are incomparable with the circumstances of today. At the time, locals believed the devil had rented an apart- ment in Milan to carry out his nefarious deeds without knowing the pestilence was brought by German merce- nary soldiers who sacked the Duchy of Mantua. I n 1 7 t h c e n t u r y M i l a n , d e a d s i l e n c e r e i g n e d through the streets, unbro- k e n e x c e p t f o r t h e d u l l sound of the bell carried by the Monatti, the pestilence c l e a n e r s . T h e n , t h e p o o r were the ones to go first. Today, the majority of fatal victims are the elders who already went through all k i n d s o f t r o u b l e s i n their lives. They battled fascism in this country, t h e y s u r v i v e d W W I I , a n d w i t h s w e a t , h a r d work and determination managed to rebuild the nation. And if they die of a zoonotic disease originating f r o m W u h a n i t d o e s n o t m a t t e r m u c h , s o m e h i n t , b e c a u s e t h e y h a d o t h e r pathologies anyway. Elders are not a waste of soci- ety, but they have become the forlorn people. The majority of deaths (42.2 percent) occurred in the age group between 80 and 89, and 32.4 percent were between 70 and 79, but the elders are not the only hit ones. The 60 to 69 age group had a fatality rate of 8.4 percent, and 2.8 of t h e f a t a l v i c t i m s w e r e between the ages of 50 and 59. The coronavirus mortal- ity rate in Italy appears to be about 5 percent. When this story was written, on March 14, Italy had a total of 1266 deaths and almost 15,000 infections. According to data provid- ed by Istituto Superiore d i S a n i t à o r H i g h e r I n s t i t u t e o f H e a l t h o n March 9, 22 percent of peo- ple aged between 19 and 50 years old tested positive. S o m e 1 . 4 p e r c e n t w e r e patients under 19, 37.4 per- cent between 51 and 70 and 39.2 percent were over 70. A l s o , s o m e T V p r e s e n - ters, judges, journalists, city prefects, doctors, generals, and even politicians have tested positive. " I f w e r e d u c e c o n t a c t s between people by 70 per- cent, within 3 months we see the light again ," says Prof Massimo Galli, the director of infectious dis- eases at Sacco hospital in M i l a n . T h r e e m o n t h s , not three weeks. Italy has been the hardest hit in Europe, but alarm is now high in other European countries as well. The first step in the fight is for the public to adapt to the new change and help stop the spread. That isn't the obligation of the govern- ment or the result of heroic efforts by doctors, rather the personal responsibility of all citizens to follow sanitary protocols. Finally, last week Italians s e e m e d t o f i n d c o u r a g e , determination, and morality to face up an almost unbear- able reality. But the first three weeks many citizens d i d n ' t s h o w t o p o s s e s s a high degree of civic sense. They coul d not r enounce their aperitifs, their happy hours and their nightlife. They kept gathering in bars and restaurants, in discos and at the ski resorts, with- out taking a living interest in the public health while newspapers announced the d a i l y d e a t h t o l l i n o u r regions. They didn't recog- nize that we are interwoven, all part of the web of inter- dependence. The acme of irresponsible behavior occurred on March 8 when thousands crowded Milan train stations to fled South, storming the night trains after a draft decree banning people from leav- ing or entering the region was revealed by the press. "What happened with the news leak has caused many p e o p l e t o t r y t o e s c a p e , causing the opposite effect of what the decree is trying t o a c h i e v e , " w a r n e d Roberto Burioni, a pro- fessor of microbiology and virology at Vita-Salute San R a f f a e l e U n i v e r s i t y i n Milan. "Unfortunately some o f t h o s e w h o f l e d w i l l b e infected with the disease." And some of them will pos- sibly infect their relatives down in the South. A few hours after Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte a n n o u n c e d t h e s w e e p i n g m o v e m e n t r e s t r i c t i o n s , i n f l u e n t i a l m u s i c i a n s , artists, and film directors b e g a n p r o m o t i n g t h e # i o r e s t o a c a s a ( I S t a y Home) hashtag. P e o p l e f i n a l l y g o t t h e message. By staying home, trends can reverse. We need to stay strong, stay united and fight the disease togeth- er. But again, where did Italy go wrong? In the beginning, lack of cohesion, inconsistency and constant bickering were the e l e m e n t s o f p o l i t i c s t h a t failed to foresee the pre - dictable disaster due to its original gaps and holes. Suddenly on January 31, Italy suspended all air traf- f i c f r o m C h i n a . D i d t h a t decrease the risk? People arrived in Italy by catching connecting flights in other countries as some Italians recounted their experience in Bangkok airport where nobody screened their tem- perature. As well, before January 31 in Italy, there was no for- mal invitation to quarantine for any person coming from China, whether Italian or Chinese. Quarantine proto- c o l s w e r e a c t i v a t e d o n February 3. Was the politi- cal class trying to preserve a wonderful relation with a giant with feet of clay? Yet, a few weeks later I f e l t p r o u d o f t h e w a y m y country followed a trans- parency policy of sharing accurate data on this health crisis. Maybe Italy has also contributed to the general drive towards more trans- parency in Europe. No data w e r e h i d d e n i n m y country that also allowed its most recent medical class of nurses to graduate now so they can enter service. A s I t a l y a d j u s t s t o l i f e under drastic quarantine measures, doctors at hospi- t a l s i n L o m b a r d y h a v e d e s c r i b e d h o w i n t e n s i v e care units are overwhelmed with patients who require E C M O , e x t r a c o r p o r e a l m e m b r a n e o x y g e n a t i o n . The situation is heart- breaking. W e w e r e n o t a f r a i d o f showing our confrontation with death. This herculean moment is experienced with authenticity and openness. I t w i l l b e i l l u m i n a t e d s o indelibly with the dignity o f t h e h a r d - w o r k i n g Italians. From this horren- d o u s a d v e r s i t y , w e w i l l flourish stronger than ever. We honor our doctors who do take the Hippocratic O a t h t r y i n g t o s a v e l i v e s w i t h n o d i s t i n c t i o n s o f wealth, income, education or culture. We need to be g r a t e f u l t o o u r u n i v e r s a l health care that proves to be a c o m p a s s i o n a t e f o r c e a g a i n s t t h e r a v a g e s o f Coronavirus. L i k e J o b , w e s t r u g g l e with wanting to know why this happened. We want to f i n d m e a n i n g w h e n l i f e d o e s n ' t m a k e s e n s e . B u t answers are no easy. There are just haunting questions. T h e r e i s a p a i n t i n g b y Canaletto commemorating t h e e n d o f t h e t e r r i b l e plague of 1576, on August 1 6 , t h e f e a s t d a y o f S t . Rocco, the protector against a l l c o n t a g i o u s d i s e a s e s . After Mass, the Doge and senators in red togas would leave the church as the sur- vivors would carry nosegays a s a m e m o r i a l o f t h e plague. T h i s w i l l b e s o o n a p a i n f u l m e m o r y . A f t e r h o u s e b o u n d r e s i d e n t s under lockdown in Naples spontaneously broke into song from their balconies on last Friday, starting a flash mob across the country that s a n g a n d p l a y e d i n s t r u - m e n t s f r o m h o m e a t t h e same time, it became clear that Italy would endure t h e v i r u s b u t n o t s u c - cumb to it. Our lives, dis- c o l o r e d w i t h o u r p r e s e n t woe, will shine with happier hours. Continued from page 4 Our squares are empty, but it's a necessity: social distancing is the only way to stop the virus from sprea- ding (Photo: Dreamstime)

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