Rome (AFP)

Rather respectful of the government watchword #iostoacasa (I stay at home), the Italians, entrenched at home to shelter from an invisible enemy, indulge in self-mockery to ward off their anxiety.

If their songs on the balconies or their applause to the nursing staff have aroused praise all over the world, the Italians also compete in creativity with a touch of humor, on discussion groups and social networks, failing to be able to meet their friends at the cafe .

Because only travel to get to work, get medical treatment or do essential shopping has been tolerated for seven days, while gatherings are completely prohibited. You can also walk or go running in your neighborhood, alone or with your dog.

Suddenly, the photos of quadrupeds to rent by the hour, to escape the fines of the police who keep watch, are among the most popular jokes. An Italian is thus staged in a video where he takes out his wriggling dog with curly black hair. He looks at his watch and suddenly disappears, throwing the fake animal over his shoulder.

A cyclist in full clothes also rides his apartment on a racing bike before being warned by his furious wife. A traveler walks through the door of his house coughing and being bombarded with shoes.

In a snapshot, a teleworker brought his concrete mixer, a bag of cement and a trowel back to his living room. Caption: "When they tell you to bring your work home".

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Confinement concerns pensioners, parents caring for children deprived of school, all those who can telecommute or even employees of shops forced to lower their curtain.

In the r

The instruction to stay at home is taken very seriously in an Italy which had been the first in Europe - it was on February 21 - to record a case of contagion appeared on its soil and not imported. Almost a month later, the city streets are almost deserted, crisscrossed by empty ghost buses.

The country officially registered 2,158 deaths out of a total of 27,980 detected cases, making it by far the most affected country in Europe

ues, the atmosphere is no longer ironic. The Romans who go out are mostly masked and increasingly distance themselves from their fellow citizens, changing sidewalks, deviating in their path.

A week ago, they stood three feet from each other, queuing outside the supermarket. Now strange lines line the sidewalks with consumers four meters apart. Inside, the masked and gloved cashiers are intimated by the most terrorized customers to disinfect the treadmill before they pass.

Here, a man gives a five-euro bill to an old woman doing the sleeve, a nice gesture made however through a throwing of money at her feet. There, a valiant pizza delivery man stands five meters from his client, inventing a new contactless payment ritual.

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