As I said yesterday, I live near Venice but my place of work/home is in Trieste, near the confined camp for the illness in Muggia (TS). Since Sunday, the number of cases have skyrocketed. The city centres are less populated and every pharmacy has run out of masks and hydroalcolic gel; some are not even opened and some don't open the door for the people and use a little window to communicate with the clients. Supermarkets run out of goods but the worst is yet to come. There is a baffling number of nurses/doctors that use the operation room scrub to leave the infected area and go to the bar or just to roam the others areas of the hospitals. The train system told that they were going to sterilize trains and provide with gel and masks but in my experience nobody followed that guideline. People with masks are belittled and make fun of, the situation is not taken seriously: maybe it's rooted to the fact that you're not man enough if you protect yourself, you need to show that you are not scared. In Milan the panic is real, and all over the northern part of Italy the churches are closed and masses are banished until further notice. Schools remain closed until March 1 but it's not confirmed that the students can enter the classroom afterwards. They have quarantined 10 cities in the province of Lodi (near Milan i can say) and armed military police prohibit the entrance or to leave those cities. Trains are not going to stop on those cities anymore. I am by nature hypochondriac and I see everywhere people not following the basic guidelines, they are not taken SERIOUSLY, spitting and coughing freely is not yet frowned upon (I considered it disgusting before all of this but yeah real man don't use napkins) There is a uproar because now bars and restaurants have to be closed after 6 PM. I wish more people would follow the basic guidelines, I wish more people could see this a real threat and not just "media scaring the people". There is a range of shades between tragedy and fear mongering.

I want to spend just two words about the politicians : the fast reaction to the concern was not directed by the people of Rome, but from the local heads of each regions. The government is still quarreling over shit and say that foreigners are to blame for this (for them, every problem is because of them)

I renovate my need to wish you all the best, from the pit of my hopeful heart. Stay safe out there.

If you appreciate this type of commentary, I will further edit and write more as long as we are all safe.

Wish you all a beautiful morning.

EDIT : yesterday I said that the malls were closed. Well I have go digress and say that they are currently open. They have closed everything BUT the crowd-filled, enclosed malls. I work with direct contact with people (I am a tour operator and tour guide for my province, promoting tourism and the art and history of my region, but all the guided tours are suspended) and I talk a lot with all kind of people. The general idea is that this is all a gimmick and it's not taken seriously at any level. I already said that I am ridiculed for protecting myself, but the carelessness of the population is baffling. We are not used to believe in the media, and the discontent is focused on the discomforts of having the children at home because "they closed the schools for instilling fear on us" and for the closed shops. They don't have ANY idea that we are in real peril and we have the largest number of infections outside China and the Koreas. They seems to have hams on their eyes and I pray it's not too late. Wish me well and I hope they could comprehend the gravity of the situation. I renovate my wish for a good day from Italy.