Day 8 of the Lockdown

Posted on March 17, 2020 by Art for Housewives

Today is Italy’s birthday. On March 17, 1861, Italy became a unified country. And now, 159 years later,  they are being united again.

Roman Balcony

The photo above was taken on a week-day at six in the evening. All the shops closed, no motion in the streets, even the sidewalks were alone. This is Rome, a city of over 4 million people. It has been like this for a week now and will continue to be like this for at least two more. The fear is that it could last even longer.

Daily life is no longer spontaneous.

Yesterday the number of dead went up but the number of infected went down. This is good news in that the fewer the infected, the fewer deaths there will be in days to come.

More good news:  Mattia, the first discovered testing positive for Covid-19 in Italy (see HERE for more info) is now out of the hospital.

The supplies arriving from China had this written on the boxes “we are waves from the same ocean” referring to the quote from Seneca, Roman philosopher and statesman, “We are waves of the same sea, leaves of the same tree, flowers of the same garden.” Pity that, not understanding this, there are irresponsible idiots out there who spread their contamination around like butter on a hot piece of bread. So, wherever you are, STAY AT HOME. And if you see some jerk out on the street not following the rules, yell from your window “Serial killer, get the hell home!”   (Scienziati concordi, la stretta dovrà proseguire oltre il 3 aprile)

One of the many problems of the coronavirus pandemic we are having in Italy now, are the lack of hospital beds. So, in record time, yesterday a new hospital, Columbus Covid 2, opened in Rome.   (Coronavirus, Roma: apertura a tempo di record per l’ospedale Columbus Covid 2).

In Bergamo, one of the hardest hit cities, there are so many patients needing intensive care treatment that they are lined up in the hallways, too. If you have a strong stomach, here is a short video. When you watch this reportage, please keep in mind that this kind of situation and much worse will soon be all over the world.

Instead of bailing out banks and the financial market, the Italian government came up with a maxi decree to help Italians in economic difficulty. Effective as of yesterday, € 5 billion will be allocated to the expansion of social safety nets, starting with the reintroduction of the redundancy fund throughout Italy. Also, taxes and mortgage payments have been suspended as well as some utility bills. Indemnity of 600 euros for seasonal workers and for those who have stopped their activities, such as entertainment or tourism workers, but also for the self-employed, freelancers with a tax number and coordinated and continuous collaboration workers (ex. Housekeepers). (Source: Coronavirus: gli aiuti che entreranno in vigore da oggi).  Question for non-Italians: will your country be doing the same for you?

At this time, if you are taking anti-inflammatories, it would be best to stop. Also, no to cortisone-based drugs. Apparently they weaken the immune system thus making you more susceptible to covid-19. In case of a fever, take paracetamol. (Covid-19: fortemente sconsigliato assumere antinfiammatori)

I am not a doctor/medical expert in any way and have never professed to be one. My desire is just to share the information we are receiving here in Italy. Please note that, because I live in Italy, I am, along with my family, directly affected therefore I have no intention of posting fake advice. As the information above came from the French Minister of Health as well as the University Hospital of Lausanne, I felt it worth sharing. However, to be read as well is a BBC article: Coronavirus and ibuprofen: Separating fact from fiction

PLEASE CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR, HOWEVER, BEFORE FOLLOWING ANY ADVICE ON INTERNET.

In Rome, there is free taxi service now for doctors.

When I first arrived in Italy almost 40 years ago, it was not uncommon to use “pattine”, large pieces of felt to be placed under the shoes of anyone coming into your home. It was meant as a means of keeping the floors clean and to keep germs out of the house. They’re not used much today. However most Italians wear house shoes at home. Many countries have the practice of shoes being taking off by everyone entering inside a home. With so much fear of contagion, it’s something to consider.

This morning I read that a coronavirus vaccine is being tested on a woman in Seattle (Trial of Coronavirus Vaccine Made by Moderna Begins in Seattle). I find this a bit surprising. In Italy they have also come up with a vaccine but they are testing it on mice for at least a month and a half before testing it on humans.

Once it was understood that the coronavirus was going to be a problem, the World Health Organization shipped tests to nearly 60 countries. But, for some reason, the White House rejected these tests. Why? Could it be because Jared Kushner’s brother, Joshua, is the co-founder of Oscar Health, an insurance company that has launched a testing center locator for COVID-19 in the United States with more than 100 centers? Is the Kushner family trying to cash in on a pandemic that could kill millions of Americans?

Great News: Jared Kushner Doesn’t Think the Coronavirus Is a “Health Reality”…

intensive care face

Well Jared, here in Italy, the coronavirus is a “Health Reality”. The photo above is of an Italian doctor. After working 13 hours non-stop in intensive care, his face was marred by signs left by his protective mask.

Who do you prefer?

jared-kushner

Jared

or

pretender

Jarod?

To keep up with the facts (statistics style), check out WorldOmeter.

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Day 7 of the Lockdown

Posted on March 16, 2020 by Art for Housewives

Would you believe that, for yesterday’s balcony gig, I washed my hair, put on makeup, squirted on some perfume, and wore my biggest pair of silver earrings? Having been confined to my home for a week, I considered it a real social engagement so dressed accordingly.

Coronavirus Balcony Singing, Rome

Above, my across the street neighbors participating in the balcony singing of “Azzurro”. Afterwards they opened up a bottle of wine and shared a toast lifting their glasses up to me as well.

Coronavirus Balcony Singing, Rome

Further down the street the night of Rino Gaetano’s Il cielo e sempre piu blu.

The balcony has become a stage for singers and musicians in all of Italy. But it’s now being used for striptease and bingo games as well. Italians need contact with others. People in the cities live in condominiums making this contact easier. But, in the USA with the Little House on the Prairie lifestyle, the awareness of others is acknowledged in another way. There’s less of an awareness on just how much we need each other.

Fratellanza (fraternity) is not just a word but a spirit that I’ve never experienced as much as I have this past week. And we need to continue with Synergy and Solidarity—in Italy, yesterday the death count was 366. In Bergamo there are so many dead that they don’t know where to put the bodies. (If you can stomach it, a film of coffins in Bergamo here). But some good news–at the Spallanzani in Rome, 316 patients were dismissed.

The peak is expected to come March 18th. After that, the country will have a better idea of the situation. Lockdown, it seems, is to continue until April 3rd.

A positive effect of the lockdown—as with China, a major drop in pollution (northern Italy had truly toxic air) and the canals of Venice, once murky, are now transparent.

Doctors from Cuba are arriving in Italy to help out bringing with them Interferon Alpha 2B, a powerful method used in the treatment of coronavirus.

In Naples, it’s been discovered that a drug (tocilizumab) used for rheumatoid arthritis has been helpful for extreme cases. The company that produces it, Roche, is offering to give it away where needed. Quite a different attitude than that of Trump who, according to the German Health ministry, has offered mucho $ to the German pharmaceutical company, CureVac, to buy a possible vaccine to be used only in the USA and to be in the hands of Trump himself. Well, despite our “brotherhood” as part of the European community, I don’t know what to expect of Germany. Italy needs about 100,000 masks and ordered them from a company in Germany. But, up until yesterday, the Germans blocked them in customs. Why? Germany claims to have only 11 victims from the COVID-19 so why the need to hoard?

And my fellow Americans, beware. Around 80% of pharmaceuticals sold in the USA are produced in China.

The World Health Organization praises how Italy is responding to the pandemic. Hans Kluge, regional director of WHO Europe, tweets that “Italy has taken a brave decision to contain & mitigate the risk of #COVID19 for its population” and that “Italy’s decisions will protect other countries. Only with people’s participation & resilience the battle will be won.“  source: L’Oms loda le iniziative dell’Italia: «Proteggono tutto il mondo»

As reported by the Guardian, the Public Health Dept. of England expects that “UK coronavirus crisis to last until spring 2021 and could see 7.9m hospitalised”…in other words, four out of five people will probably contract the virus. British people over the age of 70 have been told to stay indoors for four months!

If I were living in England, I would be afraid. The Health Dept. predicts 80% of the population will get the virus and at least 318,000 will die. Source: Coronavirus, il rapporto shock della Sanità britannica: “L’80% della popolazione sarà contagiato e ci saranno almeno 318 mila vittime”

Italians looking out for their own… Italians stranded outside of Italy will never get the care and attention they would here in Italy.  “Alitalia comes to the rescue of thousands of Italians unable to fly home. The Italian ministry of foreign affairs is co-ordinating a series of special flights, operated by national flag carrier Alitalia, to repatriate thousands of Italians stranded abroad due to travel bans over the Coronavirus outbreak in Italy. On the night of 15 March a plane left Rome for the Maldives, stopping off in Cairo to change crew in order to respect the ban on Italians from entering the Maldives.” These Italians, once home, will be put in quarantine for 40 days.

Yesterday’s irritation: The Pope, with at least four bodyguards, decided to leave Vatican City to pray at the church of Santa Maria Maggiore tranquilly walking the streets of Rome. Although in general I like this Pope, I think his action showed a total lack of respect towards all the Italian forced to live in isolation, towards those Italians who have to have a permission slip just to go to the grocery store. The Pope is a resident of Vatican City and not of Rome. He broke the law. If the Pope wants to help, he can have the Catholic Church donate money esp. considering that they are one of the richest churches in the world. Or at least they could start paying taxes. I’m an Italian citizen and a resident in Rome. The people out on the streets directly affect my health. The Pope recently was sick with flu symptoms. Why should he be able to walk around while I have been confined inside for a week?

Today’s Lift My Spirits music; Little Big – Uno – Russia 🇷🇺, Official Music Video – Eurovision 2020…Thank you Renata!

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Please listen to my bluebird sing.

Posted on March 15, 2020 by Art for Housewives

listen to my bluebird sing

One of my favorite songs is Buffalo Springfield’s BLUEBIRD. Every time I hear it, I feel a melancholic happiness. Every time I hear it, I feel like singing, too.

Music is a power. It can change a bad mood into a good one. The positive vibrations it gives us are good for our immune system. And, in times like these, our immune system needs all the help it can get.

Since the COVID-19 lockdown, Italians have been lifting their spirits (as well as those of the rest of the world) with their balcony singing.  Of course the music frequencies help but what also helps is that it has given us a chance to come out of isolation without breaking the rules. It has created an awareness that we are not alone in this moment of tragedy.  It has made us feel like brothers and sisters again.

So we must continue to sing because what is good for the soul is good for the body.

roma flash mob

Rome’s flashmob playlist:

Inno d’ Italia

Azzurro

Il cielo e sempre piu blu

Videos of the Flashmob Sonora (I’ve tried collecting as many links as possible…maybe when we’ve been in lockdown for another week, we won’t feel like singing anymore and I can always play these links to warm up the spirit):  Italians Find ‘a Moment of Joy in This Moment of Anxiety’   + A Violin in Venice   (FB url)   +   Coronavirus, a Bologna si canta Bella ciao dai balconi per vincere la paura  +   Why national anthems exist: Ma a vincere il premio del giorno è lui. Monteverde Roma (FB url)   +   Nessun Dorma a Gavinana (FB url) WOW!   +   Cori e canti sui balconi: da Napoli a Milano la musica che unisce il Paese   +   Italy prepare to fight the coronavirus with a flashmob at a distance   +   “TANTO L’ARIA S’ADDA’ CAGNA’” – A ROMA GIULIANO SANGIORGI DEI NEGRAMARO IMBRACCIA LA CHITARRA E IMPROVVISA UN MINI CONCERTO DAL BALCONE DI CASA SUA    +   Singing from the balcony: life in lockdown Italy   +   People in Salerno singing the Italian national anthem to keep their spirits up…(Facebook url)   +   “Abbracciame cchiù forte”, il canto dei napoletani in quarantena dai balconi di casa   +   Balcony jam session…even with the shutdown the people of Punticiell found a way to get together and share Joy! (FB url)   +   A Benevento il coronavirus si combatte così: musica e canti sui balconi…   +   Así dan la pelea los italianos al covid-19   +   LA SPERANZA Siena, le contrade si affacciano alle finestre e improvvisano cori per scacciare il Coronavirus: il video    +   4° giorno di quarantena: La periferia e il suo legame profondo con la musica! Ho suonato anche pezzi miei ma, sinceramente, qui me so emozionato comm’ a nu criaturo.. from Facebook   +   Se non ci fosse NAPOLI bisognerebbe inventarla (twitter)   +    Woman sings opera from a balcony in Italy while under lockdown due to coronavirus (FB url)   +  E allora cantiamo và! (FB url)   +   Il flashmob sonoro che unisce l’Italia  +   Watch: Quarantined Italians are singing their hearts out. It’s beautiful   +   Italians sing patriotic songs from their balconies during coronavirus lockdown  +  more national anthem        Premier Conte’s  tweet      -30-

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Day 5 of the Shutdown

Posted on March 14, 2020 by Art for Housewives

At noon in all of Italy today, people were at their windows applauding. It was a sign of appreciation for those nurses and doctors who have been risking their lives to save the lives of others. On our street, someone played “Nessun Dorma”, song made famous by Pavarotti. And with the phrase, “All’alba vincerò” (I’ll win at dawn), you could feel a sense of togetherness with neighbors you barely knew if you knew them at all. It was an emotional moment shared by all of us.

Synergy and Solidarity is what we need now to keep us alive.

 

Here in Rome, the sky was grey this morning and it looked like rain. And since buying groceries now implies standing in line outside the store, the idea of being caught in the rain when there’s a killer virus going around was a bit stressful.

Day 5 of Shutdown

On my walk to the store, there were vigili (city police) hailing down passing cars and scooters to see if they had permission to be out. It may seem extreme to those outside of Italy but we, who are here, are glad for these controls as they may save someone’s life including our own. The coronavirus is extremely contagious. Since many people infected show no symptoms, anyone you bump into could be a potential killer.

Day 5 of Shutdown

At the shop where I buy fruit and vegetable, there were only a few people. Outside the shop, wearing a mask and protective gloves, was one of the shopkeepers making sure only two people at a time were inside. We have had these restrictions for only five days now but so far I haven’t heard anyone complain.

But I have some complaints and they’re not about Italy.

British physician, Christian Jessen, instead of practicing medicine, presents TV shows like “Embarrassing Bodies” (that in itself tells you much about him). He recently claimed that Italians were using the coronavirus outbreak as an excuse to take a “long siesta.” What a wicked thing to say considering that, as of yesterday, over 1260 Italians died because of the virus. Maybe Jessen is not capable of distinguishing someone who is sleeping from someone who is dead. Shame shame shame on you Jessen! And, Jessen, what do you think of Boris Johnson who tells the British to get ready to see many of their loved ones die but that’s ok because, by having 60% of the population infected, immunization from the virus will develop.

I thought I liked Rebecca Solnit (even bought her book on walking) but after reading one of her posts on FB, it’s good-bye. In her post of Saturday, March 14, 2020 5:38 a.m., she complained of people posting misinformation (“Also please stop posting ridiculous misinformation because I got three of you to take things down tonight and I don’t have time to fact-check the whole fucking US of A.”) I applaud anyone who fact-checks. However, Rebecca, don’t thrown the first stone. You also say “Even if you get sick a lot of you will be fine. Actually a lot of us will probably get sick, but by delaying the spread we’re preventing the medical system from getting overwhelmed as Italy’s has, because they didn’t take it seriously and then it was a catastrophe.” Rebecca, maybe you need to do some fact checking yourself. It was only by chance that, February 14, a patient from Codogno was tested for coronavirus (please read the post Living the Lockdown) and once the results were in, the ENTIRE town of Codogno was placed in quarantine. Ten days later, the entire region of Lombardy was also shutdown. And immediately anyone flying into the region had their temperature tested. Furthermore, testing in masses was done and FREE OF CHARGE and with sick leave for those infected. If there is anyone guilty of not taking the coronavirus seriously, it’s the USA and its president! Just ask Deborah Berger, president of National Nurses United.

And for today, that’s enough. For data update, consult Coronavirus Update worldOmeter.

# SynergyandSolidarity # Sinergiaesolidarietàitalia

(Living the Lockdown)

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neolaureati in innfermieristica

These young people just got their nursing degrees and already are on the frong lines!

The government is trying to find a way to help those in economic need because of the coronavirus tragedy. So they will find a way to stop, for the time, taxes and mortgage payments and offer a deduction on utility bills. Coronavirus, in arrivo il “super decreto“: stop a tasse e mutui, taglio delle bollette

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Love in the time of coronavirus.

Posted on March 14, 2020 by Art for Housewives

It's Going to be OK

I’m trying to be optimistic and not freak out over this wicked pandemic. But sometimes it is all so overwhelming. Luckily he’s there to reassure me.

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p.s. the mayor of Rome, Virginia Raggi, recently hung from her office overlooking the Roman Forum a homemade banner with the script “Andrà tutto bene” … “Everything will be all right.”

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