Coronovirus message from Italy

[gardenflowergirl]

Saw this message from an Italian on Facebook, saying it's going to be worse than we've been told:

TO ALL MY FRIENDS AROUND THE WORLD

Hello everybody, long post.
It's again about Corona virus. As you might know the situation here in Italy is tragic. With the wrong decisions that have been taken not to stop the economy, we are now at the point in which in the next 2 weeks we can expect to have the doctors to cure those who have a longer expectation of life and not to cure the others. Many many people are sick and many people need breathing support. True that italy has dismantled the best health system in the world (and we are now rushing to buy breathing machines) and we pay he consequences of this but it is also true that his virus is a true calamity, something that we have never seen before. So the message is to warn you. If you have cases in your country and they are telling you it is just a flue, it is wrong. It is just a flue for some but we have also 30 years old or less in intensive care, not to talk about old people or 50/60 years old people. The virus is highly contagious, I need to remark this.... and it spreads also before symptoms appear. From what I see there are cases in Europe, in the US etc. They will probably tell you the situation is serious when it will be serious so please start to take precautions now. It doesn't matter if you feel that you appear over worried, believe me. Some weeks ago we had an important basketball event, February 13th/16th with many people coming from the north. Now, March 10th, we have about 20 people in intensive care (100.000 people city) and in Niguarda hospital in Milan (much bigger) they have 30. Regular hospitals activities are no longer possible, if we don't stop the virus we might die also for a very stupid reason because the regular hospital activities are blocked. Even this past weekend people where at the beach and this happened for 3 reasons: italians tend not to respect the rules, young people think they don't get sick but they don't understand they'll make their parents sick and finally you don't see this enemy until doctors start to literally beg you to stay home because they have been working non stop for days and nights and they know they won't be able to assist everybody...or you start to hear that someone that you know is sick, two of my friends have sick parents for example. Personally I am doing all I can including using all the means I have not to go to work but many firms still haven't understood that they must stop. Please pray for this nightmare to end, it is the greatest struggle we have faced since world war. Schools are closed and we are trying to stay connected and work from home. Supermarkets now force you to keep distances and use masks...I mean, it's an apocalipctical scenario hard to believe and to explain. Do all you can to ask your governments to act immediately and strongly, no economy is worth a massacre like this. The world needs to review priorities. Again please say a prayer for us, we don't deserve to end like this. Take care ❤

[Seventyone72seventy3]

The bar below my flat is only letting in 4 people at a time (normally 8 - 10 people there in the morning).

[BookMeOnTheSudExpress]

Yes, Nattino's declaration last week made s lot of the international press and was discussed at length on here. He works at a private hospital too, which explains why they had such a small critical care unit which needed to be expanded.

[thefemalelemur]

I definitely think people here need to take this more seriously. I'm not in panic mode but I don't think enough is being done to try and reduce infection. They should be cancelling big events, have as many working from home as possible and encouraging people to stay at home/away from other people unless necessary.

[thefemalelemur]

My dd works in a town where there have been several confirmed cases, and even though they could all do their jobs from home, they still aren't allowing it which seems madness to me.

[Nekoness]

@ChardonnaysPetDragon since you asked what good does it do and @Orangeblossom78 your little graph packet fails to include the most important graph... this: we can’t stop the outbreak but we should be desperate to flatten the curve. Shutting schools and public events has proven that the virus spreads like the grey wave. Continuing what the U.K. govt is doing (and what Italian govt did) leads to the red curve.

We need to avoid the red curve! The virus is inevitable. It’s about how it happens.

And we’re fucked at the moment.

To those asking why there isn’t martial law in Italy - Er, because no one is rioting and everyone is complying! There is police force in the streets and they will issue fines if you’re failing to comply. People are complying. Just because there’s no rioting and looting doesn’t mean it’s not serious.

[littlecontis]

456 cases as of 14:00 today. And people still don't know how serious this is and the measures we urgently need.

[DameHannahRelf]

There could be over 1000 cases in the UK in 6-8 days then? As the numbers are said to double every 3-6 days?

[YoursTunbridgeWells]

Was listening to Radio 4 - we have a desparate shortage of ventilators which are needed.

[ChardonnaysPetDragon]

Nekoness I don't dispute the validity of the graphs and I am as scared as anyone.

What I dispute is what good will come of if we all panic, that's all. And I do think that some posters even slip south of panic. I question the need of predicting riots on these threads and on the breathless updating of numbers and even betting on them. That's what's not helping.

[OnceUponACat]

Knowledge and being prepared does not mean panic

[Delatron]

I think we need to do more to protect the over 60s. Or even get them to take this seriously. Having lots of conversations and hearing the same thing ‘Oh my mum is still going on her cruise to Vietnam.’ ‘Etc.
My parents are still going to the gym. I think the current strategy of herd immunity is one thing but we need to find a way to protect our elderly.

[Rosa]

@emsy86 for your comments on the economy and those making derogatory comments about the Italians , I am ashamed to be a brit in Italy reading some of them ( Mumsnet at its best !) all your thoughts about the economy crashing and the UK unable to sustain a lockdown ....Many Italians were just like you and many saying ' it won't happen to me ' ' it will never happen ' . Lockdown is happening and many like us have no money as in zero coming in . We await to hear if we will be able to claim for anything be given some form of contribution . .... We can delay our mortgage payments , and ask for our bills to be delayed but for how long ? . When the lockdown is over we have no idea when we can work again . It is scary and I applaud the Italian government ( which is probably the first time ever !!) for putting these measures in place for its population. Where I am we are under threat of even more tightening of restrictions due to people abusing them . This email has been circulating in Italy as well as lots of fake ones. The head of our region said that 80% of ICU beds are full and they are doing what they can to find more and we have to respect the rules and stay at home.... I have family and friends in the UK and I am sharing the genuine stuff that we know here with them .. Keep safe and wash your hands !!

[tallah]

There's lots of fake news! Don't believe it's real to be honest

[OnceUponACat]

@tallah you’ll soon find out.

[HelpFlattenTheCurve]

The precautionary principle dictates taking aggressive action NOW to slow this down. This website (not mine) illustrates the difference in effect (action vs. no action), and gives a list of measures that can be taken mostly by individuals.

Clearly we have many, many more cases in the UK than the 460 announced today, because of the lag between infection, testing, and getting results. By my maths it's probably more like 10,000 infected individuals today.

If we take aggressive measures now we can still avoid the really large numbers of deaths, but clearly we are running out of time. Unfortunately, by the time that becomes clearly apparent in the actual case numbers, it will be far, far too late.

This website (not mine, I just found it and like it) illustrates the problem, the impact we can have by strict social distancing measures taken early, and then lists out many actions that individuals can take to improve the situation.
www.flattenthecurve.com/

[ChardonnaysPetDragon]

OnceUponACat

Knowledge and being prepared does not mean panic

Yes of course, but I’m not talking about knowledge and preparation.

[ChardonnaysPetDragon]

Look, we clearly have to agree that disagree here, but I am getting increasingly uncomfortable with these threads.
I realise that’s my problem though.

[BookMeOnTheSudExpress]

@Rosa
Hello lovely! Bucharest here.

[Seventyone72seventy3]

People aren't rioting in Italy because there would be no point! It's not the government's fault (for once) and most people are following the rules.

[AngelicaKauffman]

Shutting schools and public events has proven that the virus spreads like the grey wave

Proven how?

[JamesBlonde1]

What is happening regarding courts in Italy?

I'm a lawyer who deals with cases concerning the safeguarding of children and social services. I go to court hearings regularly. So, what I would constitutive serious cases.

I've no idea what our courts will decide to do if we go on lockdown.

[OnceUponACat]

Courts stopped until may I think

[OnceUponACat]

Now I know how Cassandra felt

[SnoozyLou]

@JamesBlonde1

They're talking about using video links.


www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/coronavirus-emergency-bill-planned-to-extend-court-video-links/5103388.article

[AuldAlliance]

My ex-husband was due to go to Piedmont from France next week for a court hearing on a fairly high-stakes cross-border case involving the French and Italian authorities.
It's been postponed to May.