Here is an English language news report on the Italian Government's latest move to limit the spread of coronavirus - Italy is third in the world in cases and fatalities after China and South Korea:

https://www.thelocal.it/20200307/breaking-italy-extends-coronavirus-red-zone-to

Well, the schools have been closed already for two weeks - our daughter is bouncing off the walls but on the whole has been pretty cool about it - practicing her keyboard (music), drawing and painting, doing homework, binge watching Riverdale and reading Umberto Eco's abbreviated version of Manzoni's classic "The Betrothed" (the Moby Dick of Italian novels).

My students in the overseas program for one private college in another city were sent home, we are expected and have started to keep up the semester with them by video link. The Universities in all northern Italy are closed till early April as well as the public schools.

Now, the decree from the Italian government tomorrow will declare the whole region of Lombardy (regions are equivalent to US States) and 11 provinces (the equivalent of counties) including Padua where I live to be the Red Zone: no one gets in or out of the province till April 3rd expect for emergencies.

So, I am teaching online and will probably be on the site quite a bit as I can't do much else - we CAN leave the house, and if one works within the province borders they can continue but must stay one meter - about a yard - from other people at all times, no handshaking etc. The Pope will hold his Sundy mass and sermon tomorrow without any worshippers in St. Peter's Square or in the Cathedral.

I can only say that if cases start showing up in or near your town, petition the authorities to close the schools immediately.

This is not a panic action. It has been demonstrated time and time again with epidemics, including a study of the United States during the pandemic flu of 1919 that killed 50 million people worldwide, that towns that shut their schools early had a much lower fatality rate than those that did not. Schools are community centers in every country - parents pick up and leave off kids (not in that order, not sure why I wrote it that way, just reverse that as Willy Wonka says), there are after school events, community associations and activities, staff and faculty, and suppliers in and out - and the kids being there make them incubators.

Close 'em now. Cuomo - Governor of NY - just declared a state of emergency there but it does include closing schools as far as I can tell. Without even a public health system where everyone can afford to get tested and treated, (in Italy even undocumented immigrants can get health care without paying - so no one should be walking around on the streets spreading the contagion due to economic factors) I fear that the US is headed for a bad time with it. But in your own town you can slow it down, prevent or limit its spread. Don't take it lightly.

best of luck to you and your family...scary stuff

Posted by 06gsp on 3/7/2020 8:56:00 PM (view original):
best of luck to you and your family...scary stuff

Thank you.

good luck

All the best, Steve. I hope all of your loved ones all remain healthy.

my thoughts and concerns are with you and your family and everyone there.

what is it like living there now day to day.....how do you obtain food......i guess you are getting bulk..are people using delivery services like amazon..
are restaurants closed.....when you do go out do people stay far away from each other...are they wearing protective gear...are there any social events anymore.......if you are in the public are a lot of people coughing...how do other people react when someone starts coughing.
in nyc at the banks its the tellers that are wearing ski masks and gloves....are people worried about handling currency.......do people have self testing kits at home.
i cant imagine anyone would buy unpackaged fruit and vegetables.
what is actually happening in real life.

the very very best to you and your family.
dino

Hey guys, best wishes for all. Thought and prayers to all of us these days. Was talking to my Doc and a couple med lab techs the other day. The virus is going to be with us all, and will be for quite a while. Lifestyles are going to be altered to some extent and it doesn't necessarily mean it's all dire, and certainly not to the 1918-1919 levels. We simply do all we can to act with caution and care. The COVID-19 is a tad milder than historical viruses and is easier to kill, but this is going to be drawn out and is a way of life for many worldwide. That being said, we don't pack anything in, in fact we'll try even harder in many things. What doesn' kill us WILL make us stronger and stronger we'll be. Let's remain diligent, aware, and cautious how we maneuver day-to-day.

Thanks for sharing your perspective. It’s more granular and “real” than following in the news feeds (sensationalism?) or gossiping around the gym or office (sharing of somewhat ignorant opinions, myself included).

im not sure that i understand the comment that this virus is easier to kill.....and milder then historical viruses...is that meaning sars ?
sars was more lethal but more difficult to spread.
a big problem is that no one can trust any info from china and we in the usa can only get accuracy about the rates and ability to contain from places like italy that have open societies......like usa...whatever italy is doing we could be next.

Posted by dino27 on 3/8/2020 11:02:00 AM (view original):
my thoughts and concerns are with you and your family and everyone there.

what is it like living there now day to day.....how do you obtain food......i guess you are getting bulk..are people using delivery services like amazon..
are restaurants closed.....when you do go out do people stay far away from each other...are they wearing protective gear...are there any social events anymore.......if you are in the public are a lot of people coughing...how do other people react when someone starts coughing.
in nyc at the banks its the tellers that are wearing ski masks and gloves....are people worried about handling currency.......do people have self testing kits at home.
i cant imagine anyone would buy unpackaged fruit and vegetables.
what is actually happening in real life.

the very very best to you and your family.
dino

First of all thank you to each and every one of you for your thoughts, wishes and concerns.

To answer some of these very good questions dino27,

Food is not a problem - or at least not mostly. Supermarkets are open, but we - my wife and I - are trying to avoid them, since they can be quite full of people even under the circumstances.

Luckily, being a small business/shop oriented economy to a surprising extent still in Italy, we can go to the local green grocer, butcher, baker, candlestick maker, fish vendor etc. for food and avoid the big places with lots of people. These are mom and pop shops and we know most of them personally, and they won't have many people in them most of the time.

Trucks bringing in goods are the one main exception except for medical personnel who are allowed to cross the borders of the effected areas, and in any case much of the food consumed in Italy is locally produced, not all of it, maybe not most of it anymore, but more of it than most Americans are used to. So food shortages are absolutely not a problem.

People can go to work IF they work within the province -the county - borders. If not, they must find a way to work online from home or take the time off. The government is going to try to kick some money up to help sustain businesses given the obvious difficulties of this.

The restaurants and coffee/sandwich bars in the red zones are only allowed open from 6 am to 6 pm, so no dinner time, since that starts at 8 pm in Italy, and things must be arranged so that people will stay one meter (three feet) from each other or the place will be closed down. This has already happened in a few cases. Pubs, discotechs, sports events, etc. are all closed along with the schools.

Masks are sold out, so not really an optoin but only sick people are told to wear them, and they are now really told to stay indoors anyway.

If someone coughed in public it would be pretty bad.

You cannot get the virus from currency, etc. it can only be passed by drops of liquid - by sneezes, coughs, urine, blood, feces. This is why it is so important to wash hands and to cover one's mouth if coughing and sneezing. it is not passed on the air, only by liquid. But sometimes liquid from sweat, or sneezes, etc. can be on inanimate objects, and in that case the virus lasts up to two hours more or less. It cannot be passed through vegetables or fruit. It dies within a couple of hours on any non-living surface, including food. So since nearly all food that is not cooked is transported and then sits in a store or restaurant for more than two hours it is almost impossible to get it that way. Cooked food does not have the virus as cooking kills it.

So it is not a nightmare scenario or a horror film. We need to stay indoors and avoid contact much more than before, absolutely avoid crowds, and events, and so on. But we are okay and hopefully this kind of attitude will catch on in the US when it becomes necessary there, which I fear my friends, having seen that idiot Ben Carson representing that other idiot in the White House today on George Stephanopolous, will happen sooner, and on a bigger scale than might otherwise have been the case.

But luckiily we have a baseball site to keep us all occupied in the meantime.

Italyprof, thank you for letting us know that all is ok with you.

I travel quite a bit around the US, and I can say not much has been disrupted yet on a large scale, except for a few areas (Washington State notably), and a few high profile events (like the SXSW festival in Austin and the HIMSS conference in Florida) have been canceled. Schools are open in most places and it is business as usual. I have taken several flights this week and the airports are full...hotels and restaurants too.

Notably, the stores seem to be sold out of hand sanitizer and masks. Not sure why the run on masks; having personally spoken with a number of ID physicians (I work in health care), the masks apparently do nothing to protect you. Their only use is to prevent those WITH the virus from spreading it through cough, sneeze, etc.

But of course our fearless leader in the white house assures us that this is not a problem, or that the problem is solved, or that it's a democratic hoax...I forget, seems to change based on the day.

Posted by contrarian23 on 3/8/2020 9:17:00 PM (view original):
Italyprof, thank you for letting us know that all is ok with you.

I travel quite a bit around the US, and I can say not much has been disrupted yet on a large scale, except for a few areas (Washington State notably), and a few high profile events (like the SXSW festival in Austin and the HIMSS conference in Florida) have been canceled. Schools are open in most places and it is business as usual. I have taken several flights this week and the airports are full...hotels and restaurants too.

Notably, the stores seem to be sold out of hand sanitizer and masks. Not sure why the run on masks; having personally spoken with a number of ID physicians (I work in health care), the masks apparently do nothing to protect you. Their only use is to prevent those WITH the virus from spreading it through cough, sneeze, etc.

But of course our fearless leader in the white house assures us that this is not a problem, or that the problem is solved, or that it's a democratic hoax...I forget, seems to change based on the day.

Yep. The Ben Carson interview was truly shocking. Total lack of preparation or even much concern. Insane.

And you are quite right - officials here ask that only those who are ill wear masks, though that was earlier, now they are quarentined at home.

I hope life goes on more or less as normal in the US, as most of my friends and the rest of my family live there, but I don't like what I am seeing from over here.

This is not a great government in Italy by any means. But Prime Minister Conte has proven courageous and intelligent in this crisis, knowing that he is in no way winning any votes for shutting down businesses, schools and towns. He is a rare example of a politician doing the right thing for his country knowing he is going to get hit hard for doing so.

https://www.thelocal.it/20200306/coronavirus-italy-is-notorious-for-disorganization-but-this-time-its-bested-the-us?fbclid=IwAR001rZwG1T8jAR_jD2dBe6baazrgyjLHXoHt74M6pg7oKWuB7VLNYt9h1Y

Why Italy for once, is ahead of the US in how to respond to a crisis.

And...leave aside the hand sanitizer gel. Soap and water are more effective:

https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-photos-why-you-should-wash-hands-with-soap-water-2020-3?IR=T

The whole country is on lockdown now: movement from town to town is prohibited except with official permission - mostly truck drivers delivering needed supplies and medical workers.

https://www.thelocal.it/20200309/italy-latest-coronavirus-cases

We are being strongly urged to stay home and work from home (I already am) even if we work in the same town.

Get ready my friends in the US, for this is on the way there as well from everything I am seeing from here. And best wishes to all.

i read an article today and reputable medical experts say that pape rcash can carry the virus and stay on the surface for many days.
launder your money.

on fruits and vegetables
i have always sceeved taking fresh fruits and vegetables from bins after people have touched them and felt them up and breathed on them...and who knows what else...
what are you going to do wash them off with soap and water....i dont want them.
i prefer packaged vegetables incl and esp tomatoes.......i get bluberries...raz....blackberries....strawberrie...bagged apples only...bannanas are ok.

have a spare can openerjust in case.....
have a cross or a mezzuzah posted on your outside door.
frozen bagels are a good item right now.