L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 16 L'Italo-Americano A f e w d a y s a g o , my brother-in- law sent a text and attached a n e w s r e p o r t about a convoy of military trucks ordered to collect the remains of the coronavirus victims in Bergamo, Italy: the city is one of the hardest hit areas battling the global pandemic. Their orders was that of transporting them to other parts of Italy and pro- ceed with cremation, in the attempt to relieve workload on local crematoria and to p r e v e n t t h e d i s e a s e f r o m spreading. No funeral was held for these victims: I am certain the government's decision was difficult, espe- cially in a country that takes tremendous pride in mourn- ing its loved ones. On a personal note, the article immediately remind- e d m e o f a p a r a l l e l s t o r y about my maternal grand- mother. My grandmother, Giuseppina Zaccaria born in Sant'Angelo a Scala circa 1902, survived the Spanish influenza in 1918. Her oldest s i s t e r F i l o m e n a , a y o u n g b e a u t i f u l b l u e - e y e d g i r l , however, was not as fortu- nate and died in her arms. Afterwards my grandmother told me that her sister's life- less body was carried on to a horse and carriage wagon a n d d u m p e d i n t o a m a s s grave. My grandmother's family never had a chance to bury their beloved daugh- ter/sister properly. The 1918 influenza devas- tated Italy much the way the 2020 coronavirus is scourg- ing the country now. My grandmother's tragedy in Italy was over a hundred years ago, but in reading the a r t i c l e I f o u n d m y s e l f r e m e m b e r i n g h e r h e a r t wrenching story while simul- taneously confronting the arrival of the 2020 pan- demic in New York City, which has become the new e p i c e n t e r o f t h e d i s e a s e , where hundreds are dying daily. I t i s t h e b e g i n n i n g o f April, and these two parallel moments have forced me to seek immediate guidance and strength from my grand- mother who passed away in 1985 at the age of eighty-six. I have constantly wondered, " W h a t w o u l d s h e d o i n 2020? How did she survive the 1918 pandemic?" The need to think about her is for sheer inspiration. History is ominously repeating itself, and in order to get through t h i s c h a l l e n g i n g a n d unprecedented time, I am going to need inspiration, a guiding light if you will, to help my family and friends c o p e w i t h w h a t i s o n t h e horizon. The pandemic is the most serious issue that I have ever had to confront in my life- time. New York City, the c o s m o p o l i t a n c e n t e r o f America, where I was born and raised, where my wife and I work and raise our daughters, is covered in complete silence. In one big swoop the city's vibrant energy is suddenly sucked- out, only to be replaced by an eerie stillness from, as President Trump declared, "an invisible enemy." The one-time bustling and noisy city is now abandoned, f o r h o w l o n g i s a n y o n e ' s guess. There is a new sound- scape that is noticeably off key, accompanied by a very different sidewalk scene and lifestyle. Pedestrians and s t r a p h a n g e r s o n buses/trains are covered in w h i t e o r b l a c k s u r g i c a l masks, some with the highly coveted N-95s, as well as in b l u e o r l a v e n d e r c o l o r e d latex gloves to protect their hands from the highly conta- gious disease. Watching the masses walk around with surgical attire in New York City is strange to say the least, but I guess pru- dent. My wife and I, like the rest of the world, are work- i n g f r o m h o m e , o n c e t h e New York City Mayor offi- cially announced the closure o f p u b l i c s c h o o l s i n a n a t t e m p t t o d i m i n i s h t h e spread of the virus through s o c i a l d i s t a n c i n g . W e , a s educators, are doing our best to be on call for our students during remote learning while juggling our responsibilities as parents and maintaining a l i f e o f n o r m a l c y f o r o u r daughters. The shelter-in-place deci- sion in New York City, like most of the country, followed the advice of many medical experts who are predicting t h e w o r s t i s y e t t o c o m e . Currently, so many hospitals i n N e w Y o r k C i t y w i l l b e u n a b l e t o m a i n t a i n t h e onslaught of patients with pre-existing medical condi- tions who are the most vul- nerable population suscepti- ble to the coronavirus virus, a n d m o s t l i k e l y w i l l b e whisked into the ER to seek treatment in the upcoming weeks. The strain on hospi- t a l s i s p r e d i c t e d t o b e s o enormous that the Jacob Javits Center was trans- f o r m e d i n t o a 1 2 0 0 b e d emergency hospital and in Central Park a field hospital was erected to serve impend- i n g p a t i e n t s e x p e c t e d t o arrive from the illness. N e w Y o r k S t a t e G o v e r n o r A n d r e w C u o m o h a s e c h o e d t h e grave predictions also. His daily briefings have been our modern day fireside chats, as one reporter from the New York Times, remarked, "It's no wonder that watching Andrew Cuomo's daily brief- ings can make some people c r a v e C h i a n t i a n d m e a t - balls….the governor of New York evokes the feeling of a b i g I t a l i a n f a m i l y d i n n e r table." I t i s n o w o n d e r t h e importance of family sur- f a c e s a t a t i m e l i k e this. Family is the pillar of our existence. Hopefully, the contagion will force many of us to press reset and reevalu- ate our lives. I have called or texted my cousins in Italy more regularly than before and asked my mother more in-depth questions about her mother and have checked-in with my own children about what they are feeling. T h e c o r o n a v i r u s h a s abruptly entered our lives like a virulent guest, who has crashed our party filled with gaiety. The US economy was strong and many of us were removed from the challenges that confront the rest of the world. At the same time, my grandmother's story of courage and perseverance has awoken me to my own s e l f - p i t y d u r i n g t h i s o u t - break. After living through the 1 9 1 8 p a n d e m i c i n I t a l y around the end of World War I, she arrived in America in 1920, unable to read/write in her native language. Almost a decade later her and my g r a n d f a t h e r m a r r i e d a n d raised three daughters on a m o d e s t i n c o m e u n t i l t h e Great Depression arrived fol- lowed by World War II— yet I never heard her complain. So, why am I complain- ing? I have electronic devices t o c o m m u n i c a t e w i t h t h e outside world via text, audio and video. If I decide, I can buy food and have it deliv- ered to my home and added to my already two/three- week stockpile. Moreover, my wife and children remain safe and out of harm's way. And, I am getting paid and have medical insurance while many others have been laid off and struggle to pay the mortgage or rent. F u r t h e r m o r e , w e h a v e running water and electricity and as long as no one inter- rupts those essentials, we will be just fine. Yes, of course this global pandemic created an inconvenience from my r e g u l a r r o u t i n e b u t c o m - pared to my grandmother's life and the horrible experi- e n c e s o f s o m a n y f i r s t responders right now, I have no reason to complain. LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE Covid-19 through my grandmother's life ALFONSO GUERRIERO w i t h d e t e r m i n a t i o n h a v e practically avoided the brunt of the pandemic, whereas other cities, States and coun- tries around the globe, where inexcusable finger-pointing p o l i t i c s , i n d e c i s i v e n e s s , denial, or mere ignorance of these fundamental tenets of public health delayed physi- cal distancing and quaran- t i n e m a n d a t e s , n o w f i n d themselves with elevated numbers of confirmed cases of SARS-Cov2 positivity, crit- i c a l C o V i D - 1 9 c a s e s , a n d deaths. In some instances, politi- cal leaders made a conscious and determinate choice, a decision based on flawed knowledge and understand- ing. They opted for herd i m m u n i t y ( e . g . , S w e d e n ) o v e r p h y s i c a l d i s t a n c i n g (e.g., Norway). And the out- comes are clear: Norway well controls the pandemic, whereas Sweden is in disar- ray. Physical distancing is, as we discussed above, science- based. It relies on the con- c e p t o f t h e r e p r o d u c t i o n number that characterizes the infectious pathogen – here and now, SARS-CoV2. By contrast, the concept of herd immunity rests on a fantastic ideal that argues that if I am not immune to the pathogen but I am sur- rounded by "a herd" of peo- ple who are immune to said pathogen, then I will not get infected by that pathogen, and am magically protected by said "herd immunity". There should be no place f o r d i s s e m i n a t i o n o f hearsay-pseudoscience in the 21 st century: stay informed and act only on evi- dence-based recommenda- tions. CoViD-19 is a nasty disease, and SARS-Cov2 is a nasty virus. Stay healthy by practicing strict physical dis- tancing: lower R 0 by lower- i n g c , a n d i f y o u m u s t because you have symptoms, self-quarantine: lower R 0 by lowering t. Be well, psychologically, s o c i a l l y a n d e m o t i o n a l l y close to each other, yet main- tain physical distancing. And be healthy! D o t t . F r a n c e s c o C h i a p p e l l i , P r o f . E m e r . UCLA Center for the Health S c i e n c e s F o r c o m m e n t s , questions or the Italian ver- sion of these few thoughts, please contact: chiappelli. research@gmail.com Continued from page 14

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