L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano T hanks to months of rigorous lock- d o w n , c o n t i - n u o u s m o n i t o - r i n g a n d s t r i c t regulations, Italy is finally able to return to some sort of normality after Covid- 1 9 h i t i t s s h o r e s l a s t February. This is truly great news for all Italians, who are able to enjoy at least some of their favorite activities: dining out, aperitivi and, c o n s i d e r i n g w e ' r e i n t h e r i g h t s e a s o n , t r i p s t o t h e beach. While our medical and scientific experts are ada- mant that the emergency is not over and that main- taining our guard high is crucial, the reduction of the virus' diffusion is essential also to allow the economy to gain back, at least in part, what has been fatally lost since the beginning of 2020. Tourism, as we had the occasion to mention in other articles, particularly suffe- red and the sector hopes to pick up some momentum in the summer months, thanks especially to national trave- lers; but with borders open — for the moment only to EU countries but soon, pro- bably, also to other parts of the world — we should think a l s o t o o u r i n t e r n a t i o n a l visitors, who are likely won- dering which areas of Italy are safer to visit. L e t ' s b e g i n w i t h s o m e reassuring news: the whole country is now a safe place to travel to, although pre- cautions must be taken, as e v e r y w h e r e e l s e i n t h e world. Social distancing, hand washing and wea- ring face masks is — and must remain — a mantra these days, whether you're going on holiday or simply down the store to get a pint of milk. That said, we can begin enjoying il Bel Paese with a tad more tranquillity: first of all, all stores, restau- rants and cafés have been complying with new regula- tions and making it quite simple for us costumers to keep safe. Al fresco seats h a v e i n c r e a s e d , t a b l e s indoor have diminished, free hand sanitizer and gloves are available outside all sto- r e s a n d c o m m u n i t y f a c e m a s k s a r e s o l d a b i t e v e r y w h e r e . A r e I t a l i a n s complying with all regula- tion? Well…on average, yes. Latest data show that in 11 regions of Italy (Veneto, F r i u l i V e n e z i a - G i u l i a , Tuscany, Umbria, Abruzzo, Molise, Campania, Puglia, B a s i l i c a t a , S i c i l y a n d Sardinia) both prevalence and the weekly number of new cases is below national average. In 7 regions (Valle d ' A o s t a , L i g u r i a , E m i l i a - R o m a g n a , M a r c h e a n d Trentino Alto-Adige), preva- lence is above national ave- rage, but cases are strongly diminishing. In Lazio and Calabria, the weekly number of cases is above national a v e r a g e , b u t p r e v a l e n c e r e m a i n s b e l o w , w h i l e i n Lombardia, which is still the most hit area in Italy, both weekly infections and preva- lence are above national ave- rage. The vast majority of daily n e w i n f e c t i o n s c o m e s , indeed, from Lombardia: on the 21st of June, there were 224 new cases, 118 of which in Lombardia. Piemonte and Emilia Romagna followed w i t h j u s t a b o v e 2 0 c a s e s each, then the rest of the country with numbers all b e l o w 1 0 . 7 r e g i o n s ( B a s i l i c a t a , M o l i s e , V a l l e d'Aosta, Sardegna, Umbria, Marche and Abruzzo) had no new cases at all. More in general, it has b e c o m e e v i d e n t t h a t l e s s d e n s e l y p o p u l a t e d a r e a s have not only been less tou- ched by the epidemic, but a r e a l s o , t o d a y , a t m u c h lower risk: I can bring in, as an example, the province of C u n e o , i n s o u t h e r n Piemonte, where I am from. Here, prevalence remained low throughout the emer- gency, because of the relati- vely low population density of the territory. This is con- firmed by how regions with low population density such a s B a s i l i c a t a a n d M o l i s e registered the lowest levels of infection. The same could b e s a i d f o r S a r d i n i a a n d r u r a l T u s c a n y o r U m b r i a which are all, by the way, pretty popular tourist desti- nations. So, where should we go to be safe? Truth is, and we have to be honest here, il virus is still among us and, while it appears to be less aggressi- v e , t h e r e i s n o t e n o u g h r e s e a r c h t o s c i e n t i f i c a l l y prove it. The little spiky fella is here to stay and we better get used to it. This doesn't mean, however, that we can- not return to do what we most love, including trave- ling, provided we follow clo- sely all the indication given b y t h e W H O a n d o u r governments: it isn't simple, to get used to new routines, b u t w e a r e r e s i l i e n t a n d adaptable, and wearing a mask when we go around town is not the end of the world, right? T h a t s a i d , I t a l y i s n o w considered a safe place to t r a v e l t o , a l t h o u g h s o m e margins of risk remain, just a s e v e r y w h e r e e l s e i n the world. If you want to stay on the safer side, then you should pick slow touri- sm over mass tourism, choo- sing lesser known areas and rural spots, rather than large cities. To be honest, though, t h e l e v e l o f c o n t r o l a n d attention to regulations are so high all over the country you can quite happily book that trip to Rome without fears, if that's where your heart is set. Until a vaccine is found, o r S a r s - C o V - 2 l o o s e s i t s aggressiveness, we'll have to accept that our lives won't be quite the same and that no place will be 100% safe: but we can protect oursel- v e s a n d o u r f a m i l i e s a n d friends with simple habits and still take joy in what we like and love. Italy is here, a w a i t i n g f o r e v e r y o n e t o return. The world changed, we changed, but our coun- t r y ' s r e m a i n s t h e s a m e : beautiful, ageless and wel- coming. SIMONE SCHIAVINATO LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE The South of Italy hasn't suffered as much as the North because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Today, regions like Cam- pania, Sicily and Sardinia are almost Covid free (Photo: Dreamstime) Covid-19 doesn't live here anymore: finally a life (almost) without virus

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