Author: Guo Xin Wei Dong Hanyang
April 12th is Easter in the West.
In Italy's famous Milan Cathedral, the blind singer Bocelli staged a solo concert, conveying hope to the world through famous songs such as "Amazing Grace".
There is always a long queue of tourists waiting to visit this attraction, now empty. The quiet picture speaks silently of the impact of the new coronary pneumonia epidemic on this country.
On April 12, local time, on Easter Day, the famous blind tenor singer Andre Bocelli performed a special "solo" performance in Milan Cathedral, Milan, the capital of Lombardy in northern Italy.
Italian President Matarella said that this year's festival is very different from usual, because the epidemic "has suddenly caused a lot of broken stories and emotions", but these days "we have also seen the realistic hope to overcome the epidemic."
What kind of "dark moment" has Italy passed with the death rate of new coronary pneumonia exceeding 12%?
They died alone and were buried alone
The clock was set back one month before March 18, the peak period of the Italian epidemic. On the streets of Bergamo, Lombardy, a long line of military trucks passed by in silence.
The trucks contained the remains of the dead with new pneumonia. Due to the large number of deaths, the local has no ability to deal with it, and has to transfer the coffin to other cities.
These people often die alone. In the small town next to Bergamo, Luca Carrara's 86-year-old father and 82-year-old mother died within hours, but he did not have the chance to see them last.
The editor of the Bergamo newspaper said, "These people died alone and were buried alone. No one held their hands, the funeral was small, and the priest hurriedly prayed. Many close relatives are still in isolation."
Profile picture: The waiter stands at an empty table outside a restaurant in St. Mark's Square in Venice.
Carrara told the local media that his father and mother had to be quarantined at home for eight days and had a temperature of 39 degrees because no doctors could diagnose it nearby. He tried to call the Italian emergency service number 122, but no one came.
When they were finally connected to the hospital, the staff did not know where to place the patient, and the doctor had to choose who to rescue and "let the old man die". Carrara said, "Everything is disastrous."
And Luca Franzese (Luca Franzese) 's sister Teresa did not enter the hospital until she died. Luca said they felt "abandoned", even the body of his sister was left unaccompanied. It wasn't until he asked for help on the social networking site that a local funeral company came.
Residents of the province of Bergamo said, "In some villages, people aged seventy or eighty have died. The death knell runs from early to late." An analysis published in the American Medical Association stated that the age of the new coronary pneumonia in the country The figure is 80 years old, and about 99% of them have complications.
For medical personnel, this situation is even more dangerous. Marcello Natali, a doctor in Cordonio, Lombardy, previously said in an interview that he had no gloves to wear at work due to a shortage of supplies. He was subsequently diagnosed with new coronary pneumonia and transferred to a hospital in Milan, where he eventually passed away. Over 13,500 medical personnel have been infected in Italy, and at least 105 of them have been killed.
Data map: During the New Coronary Pneumonia epidemic, a woman in Milan, Italy, dropped a basket from the balcony. People can donate food or enjoy the food in the basket for free.
Less than 2 months, life is beyond recognition
On February 21, Italy found the first locally diagnosed patient in Codonio, Lodi Province. Before being isolated, the "Patient One" had participated in half marathon, small town running competition and football competition in three regions. His father, wife, family doctor, hospital medical staff, golfers, and patients in the same hospital are all infected, and it is estimated to affect about 50,000 people.
One day later, the number of confirmed cases increased to 79, and the government announced the closure of 11 municipalities in Lombardy and Veneto. However, in the streets of Lombardy, few people wear masks; the traditional "Orange War" is still held, and more than 10,000 people flood the streets; the Mayor of Milan also launched the "Milan Nonstop" activity on the Internet.
On February 27, the number of new coronavirus infections in Italy exceeded 400. Although the government has offered measures to suspend classes and suspend social activities in many places, the epidemic does not seem to have received enough attention.
On the same day, the city of Milan only enforced a two-day curfew and was forced to cancel. The ruling Democratic Party leader Nicola Zingaretti sent a photo of a clinking glass of "aperitif in Milan" to advise people "Don't change your habits"; people shouted in the street "Be free and don't mask".
But on March 7, Zingaretti himself was diagnosed with the infection.
On March 9, Prime Minister Conte announced that "we have no time", and the whole country will officially "close the city" on the 10th. Italy subsequently further closed all stores, and only some of the supermarkets, banks, and public transportation for civilian use could remain in operation. As a result, the price of masks skyrocketed, supermarket vegetables were out of stock, and the number of diagnosed cases increased by more than 20,000 within a week.
On March 12, local time, the deserted Vittorio Emanuele II shopping mall in the center of Milan, Italy.
Some analysts say that such a gradual attempt to block the soldiers seems to be a step slower than the deadly trajectory of the virus.
On March 19, the cumulative death toll in Italy rose to 3,405, becoming the country with the largest number of deaths in the world at that time. The surge in deaths has sounded the alarm for the people, and the government's epidemic prevention inspection and punishment efforts are also increasing. Italy was gradually quiet, and there were few people walking on the street, most of them put on masks.
On March 30, the cumulative number of confirmed cases in Italy exceeded 100,000. At the same time, the epidemic situation has also begun to enter a "gentle period", and the number of newly diagnosed cases has dropped from more than 6,000 cases in a single day to about 3,000 cases. The head of the Italian civil defense department Borelli said that Italy's implementation of national control measures for nearly a month is paying off.
In recent days, the number of severe cases and the number of people receiving general medical treatment in hospitals have also continuously decreased. On April 12, Italy added 431 deaths, the lowest in nearly three weeks.
On April 6, local time, medical staff at a hospital in Cremona, Italy, held hands and expressed support and tribute to the people affected by the new coronary pneumonia epidemic.
"We started to see the light at the end of the tunnel"
As of the 13th, Italy has cumulatively diagnosed more than 159,000 cases of new coronary pneumonia, with more than 20,000 deaths and 35,000 cured.
In early April, in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, a 103-year-old Riada Zanuso successfully defeated the new crown virus. She said that "faith and courage" is her secret to fight the epidemic.
Another piece of good news comes from Lodi province, one of the "heavy disaster areas" where the infection is close to 1% of the population. On April 12, only 12 people were newly diagnosed in the province. According to the person in charge of emergency services, in the past week, the number of people who came to the hospital due to suspected symptoms has decreased from an average of 100 people a month ago to about 10 people.
The day after the outbreak, Lodi and many neighboring provinces entered the "blockade". Walter Ricciardi, a member of the WHO Executive Committee and an adviser to the Italian Ministry of Health, said that the current positive signs in Lodi are largely due to the early blockade slowing the spread of the virus.
On April 10 local time, the periphery of the Roman Coliseum monument was fixed with a warning tape. Italian Prime Minister Conte said on the same day that the national "closed city" measures that were originally scheduled to end on April 13 would be extended to May 3.
The number of people calling emergency services is also decreasing. Fabrizio Canevari, the manager of the emergency call service company responsible for the four provinces of Lombardy, revealed that "on the third day of the outbreak, we can receive 2,300 calls a day." Today, the number of daily calls has dropped 480.
"We are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel," said Fabio Arrighini, head of the ambulance hotline, in Brescia, one of the cities with the highest mortality rate in Italy.
New question: continue to block or "unblock"?
The Wall Street Journal commented that Italy's slowdown in the epidemic after the blockade is a sign of hope for other Western countries that have similar practices but lag in time.
From the partial closure of the city, to the national blockade, and to the two extensions of the blockade until the beginning of May, Italy's isolation policy has been continuously upgraded. Silvio Brusaferro, director of the Italian National Institute of Advanced Hygiene, said: "The curve has reached a plateau and has begun to decline." "This is what we want to achieve day after day."
In Rome, Italy, a resident knocked on the cymbals with a pot lid to participate in a music flash event called "Look out from the window, Rome mine!"
The Italians in the epidemic were also used to this "blockade" state. They gradually gave up the veneer ceremony and learned to entertain themselves. In Rome, "unwilling and lonely" citizens held a "balcony concert" with a violin and accordion, and some people "skied" indoors and ran a marathon at home ...
But living at home also means economic stagnation. According to statistics, one month after the closure of the city, Italy's economic losses amounted to 47 billion euros, accounting for about 3.1% of the gross national product (GDP). As the epidemic slowed down, the government also faced the new issue of whether to continue the blockade or "unblock" it.
Italian Prime Minister Conte previously revealed that some measures may be relaxed at the end of this month. But he also said that Italy cannot lower its vigilance, and the restrictions will only gradually relax.
WHO Director-General Tan Desai warned that countries considering lifting or relaxing restrictions should first consider protecting human health. "Removing restrictions too quickly may lead to a fatal rebound."
Perhaps as Monica Moretti, a resident of Cordonio, said, she did not know when the travel restrictions could end, and she was worried that she could not live without income, but more worried about the second outbreak , And the previous sacrifice was in vain. (Finish)