"Families in Bergamo say goodbye to the ambulance"

Text by: Géraud Bosman-Delzons Follow

The coronavirus epidemic affects 182 countries in the world out of 193. Almost 2.6 billion people are expected to stay at home. Europe remains the main home of the planet. Common drastic measures, such as home confinement, have been taken. But the realities experienced by citizens vary from country to country. Italy, Netherlands, Spain, England: four life stories under epidemic.

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In Italy: " The obituary pages have gone from two to fifteen "
Barbara Zappa, 49, high school teacher in Bergamo

“On Wednesday March 25, there were 7,072 people infected in Bergamo (120,000 inhabitants) and nearly 1,000 dead. In Milan, the neighboring city of 1.4 million inhabitants, 6,074 were contaminated. This disaster happened because Bergamo and its region were not declared a red zone in time, and because two epidemic outbreaks, Alzano Lombardo and Nembro, were not immediately isolated. On the contrary, doctors and nursing staff continued to work in the hospitals of Val Seriana [valley close to the city] without protection, spreading the contagion. The government did not activate these red zones for economic reasons, so as not to halt production activities in the region.

► Read also: State of the world facing the pandemic on March 27: 1000 dead in 24 hours in Italy

However, this official count does not correspond to reality: it is largely underestimated because many elderly people died at home, without being diagnosed. Authorities say the peak is expected by the end of this week.

I myself had the symptoms of Covid-19: fever, cold, severe headache, back and leg pain, loss of taste and smell and tremendous fatigue. I was infected by my daughter's boyfriend. But like many in this case, I was not hospitalized and could not be screened, however, having asked my doctor. I only took paracetamol to lower the fever and ease the pain. I started to feel better after twelve days, but I have not yet found the taste and smell. Even without having respiratory problems, I was afraid of dying because I knew that the situation could get worse in a few hours.
My children aged 16 and 21 were also sick but recovered after two or three days. They never ask me to go out, they understand that the house is the safest place. Relatives of their friends are dead. I am very worried about my 73 year old mother: she has been alone for three weeks ...

Containment was officially declared on March 8, but we had already stopped going out and seeing friends for two weeks already. We got used to it because it is lived more as a protection than as a seclusion. It is also true that this epidemic reveals the true nature of everyone. But the time is rather to do everything to escape the death that knocks, really, on our doors.
The atmosphere in the city is unreal: the streets are empty, the shops closed, except pharmacies and supermarkets. The hardest thing to bear is the silence, only broken by the sirens of the ambulances. For a few days, they decreased, I saw a sign. Then I saw them with their lights, without the sound, and I understood: they simply want to contain the anxiety that would otherwise explode. This silence is deadly silence.

All the bodies are cremated, but the municipal crematorium is unable to absorb the exceptionally high number of remains, which are then transferred to other cities by military trucks. Families are not allowed to go to the hospital. I cannot imagine what it is like to live with the guilt of not having been able to assist a parent in agony, of having left him alone in death. Funerals are prohibited. Families greet their sick loved ones one last time when they are taken by ambulance. Families will receive a funeral urn a few weeks later. This virus has stolen our humanity. "

In the United Kingdom: “ Yesterday we could visit the family and go to the pub, today we are cordoned off! Jonet Bown, 75, retired at Harrogate

"We have been in confinement officially since Monday, but my husband and I had already decided last week not to go shopping. The last ones date back to Monday the 15th, at 7:30 am exactly. We go out for a very short walk every day and we are lucky to have a large garden.

I was born at the end of the war and like many of my generation, I always had a supply of food. Waste is not part of my education and we are not used to going out to eat. But I will soon run out of essentials. For us, classified as "vulnerable", local shops take our orders and have them delivered. My daughter lives 45 minutes from us, she completes the shopping every week. We have an old-fashioned milkman who delivers us every three days! And I buy my eggs from a lady in the neighborhood. Both of these products are out of stock in supermarkets. We are very lucky.

For the moment, the isolation doesn't affect me too much, even if it's sad to no longer see her grandchildren. Our main concern is that we have to move within a month. I fear it will be postponed for several weeks. To which are added my back problems since I can no longer receive the care of my physiotherapist. My cataract operation was also delayed. I waited for five months and I had just gotten an appointment!

It is an unprecedented situation for everyone, including those who experienced the restrictions of the 1940s. I think life will no longer be as before. But I'm not too worried, with a solid family and a critical mind that allows me to stay away from rumors spread on social networks!

At the beginning, we were told that we needed collective immunity, that is to say that as many people as possible caught the virus and healed it! Dominic Cummings [special advisor to the government] is quoted as saying " collective immunity protects the economy, and if it means retirees have to die, it is too bad " [controversy escalated, Downing Street denied on March 23, Editor's note].

With the increase in deaths, this strategy quickly changed: we went from a soft to a hard strategy and now to sanctions . Yesterday, we were told that we could visit the family and even go to the pub, today we are cordoned off! In the meantime, there has been a lot of confusion. Last weekend, thousands of people went to the coast or to the countryside. Many ignored the instruction to keep their distance, many young people also did not feel concerned by the instructions.

Economic measures have been taken for companies and for those who find themselves out of work, whose salary is covered 80% by the government. But each decision seems to have been taken hastily, with little regard for the consequences. A striking example is that of artificial respirators [crucial for patients in the resuscitation phase, note]. The minister said that we had 12,000, when in fact it is 8,000. The government asked different companies to change their production to make respirators, while specialized companies were not asked to increase their production! Hospital staff are under-equipped and move from one hospital to another with the same gown; nurses' wages have been frozen and the NHS [British public health system] has been underpaid for years ... "

In Spain: " My job is very rewarding "
Ricard Closa, 56, personal assistance agent in a health center in Igualada

“Spain has been confined since March 13, but in the area where I live, Conca d'Odena, which includes four cities (7,000 inhabitants), we have been there since March 9. 90% of the stores are closed and there is an absolute vacuum. Social, cultural, associative, friendly life, outings in the evening, absolutely everything was interrupted. All roads are checked. This concerns me directly because I work in a health center. I only go back and forth to Igualada to go to work, buy basic necessities and visit my mother who lives alone and needs help.

► Read also: State of the world facing the pandemic on March 27: tragic record of 769 deaths in 24 hours in Spain

Fortunately, here is the countryside. You can take the air and the sun without danger. In the city, deserted at all times, we hear birds singing like never before, we breathe the smell of flowers and plants that had been covered by pollution. People adapt. And we haven't lost our sense of humor for which we are maestros!

Everything has changed in my work at the health center. All appointments have been canceled, except vital emergencies. I received new instructions from a management center. We improvise every day. It's new for everyone, including those who run it. But the tension is quite moderate because in truth, we have excellent professionals. And the patients are very grateful to them.

My job is to sympathize with the audience, take charge of it and explain it to them, knowing that you don't have an immediate solution. People have a lot of doubts, they are worried, they need concrete answers and we cannot always give them. The system crashes, the response is slow and people get impatient. However, most understand our situation and also know how to appreciate it. In recent days, I have been very often moved by the gratitude of all these strangers. It makes you feel great and encourages you. My work is very rewarding.

In our region, we are more than 50 dead, 395 positive including 140 health professionals. I don't have the data but there are also a lot of positive or suspected quarantines in their house.

The government says that containment is very important, that we are working on a vaccine, that we will win, etc. But in general, politicians do little to solve problems and take advantage of the opportunity to vote. They are not up to the situation. Investments in the health system have been abandoned and are now wreaking havoc. At the municipal level, management is improving, there is more involvement in public services, but certain attitudes are still open to criticism.

This situation should make us think about our model of society. You just have to see the reaction of people in this new situation: some took containment very seriously, others not. This gives rise to discussions and fights. Some of us have chosen to shop in an orderly fashion, thinking of the others, while others have forgotten their education, looking like wild animals in front of a slaughtered prey. I have seen people more concerned about their work situation, whether or not they can go to work, than their own health. What scale of values ​​do we have? What do we really care about?

We have to open our eyes and change our habits. We should start with the youngest, give them the keys to continue it. In the meantime, I am happy to be part of a service sector for all and without conditions. "

In the Netherlands: " This global crisis shows us the fragility of our existence "
Léon Kruitwagen, 55, director of an event agency in The Hague

“The Dutch government's ban on meetings of more than three people put an end to all my professional activities. I witnessed the total collapse of a sector, that of events, still in full swing three weeks ago. Now there is absolute calm in the city, like a fallout after an atomic bomb. I have time to read, follow the news at least three times a day, watch Netflix, think about the future and do some "lazing around"! The only things I really miss are going out and meeting friends. My social life is almost 100% virtual. But also more intensive: everyone is at home, reachable and available!

The authorities follow the directives of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment and those of WHO: stay at home, go out only if necessary, respect a distance of 1.5 meters between people, no meetings (except with family), all shops (except food) are closed as well as all cultural, sports or meeting places until April 6. The police intensively control and verbalize.

But the state supports citizens: closed businesses can obtain compensation of 4,000 euros per month to cover fixed costs. Salary costs are borne by the government for a period of three months. Banks offer easily accessible payment terms and financing and taxes can be paid later in the year.

Confinement represents for the Dutch a form of feudal absolutism that has never been known or accepted. It was not possible because it is not the Dutch culture in which individual freedom prevails. Consensus is an old value in our egalitarian country. The construction and maintenance of the dikes - to protect us from another threat: water - had already illustrated a collective work in which everyone had to take responsibility. Everyone has understood the seriousness of the situation and is facing it with major consequences. There is a solidarity and a collective will that we had never lived.

► Read also: To counter the coronavirus, the Netherlands refuse containment

At first, I was in shock. This global crisis shows us the fragility of our existence. Many people have to start from scratch. But together, we are going to stop this epidemic. Now is a good time to invent another world. Let's go! "

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• Coronavirus
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