Another letter from Rome

Italy seemed to be making progress in curbing spread of the virus notwithstanding political turbulence and infighting

Acouple of months ago I wrote about the lockdown in Rome. There were no cars, motorcycles or bicycles on the street; piazzas of the city, usually thronged with tourists, were empty; theatres, bars and restaurants, normally throbbing with life late into the night, were shut; most high street shops had their shutters down; and there were long queues outside supermarkets, pharmacies and tobacconists. It was a bizarre environment.

Initially there was a strong sense of “we shall overcome” — a new social cohesion in the face of adversity. People helped their neighbours with shopping and cooking; and families ate leisurely meals together. The President and the Prime Minister rallied the Italians by invoking the “national spirit of solidarity” which had held the country together during the Second World War. There was singing every evening at 6PM from windows, balconies and terraces — images that went viral on social media. Schoolchildren made rainbow coloured posters saying “Tutto Andra Bene” (everything will be fine).

But people changed as the lockdown stretched out week after week; as the death tolls continued to rise and the TV showed images of army trucks taking dead bodies to crematoriums. There was also increasing confusion of what needed to be done and whether the Italian government was taking the right actions. The confusion was compounded by the uneven incidence of the illness. The highest death toll was in the Lombardy region which is the economic powerhouse of the country and has always been associated with modernity and efficiency. Its health system, based on a mix of public and private facilities, was considered the best in the country and among the most efficient in Europe. So, what was going wrong in Lombardy? And what would happen if the disease spread to other regions, especially in the poorer south of the country?

The lockdown had a serious impact. Like Pakistanis, Italians revel in gatherings of friends and family; physical contact is common with a hug and a kiss on the cheeks being de rigueur. The lockdown caused an immense sense of disorientation and was reinforced by several iconic images such as the Pope celebrating the Easter service in a deserted St Peter’s Square, and the President of the Republic laying a wreath on the grave on the unknown-soldier on Liberation Day (April 25) without the traditional guard of honour and military parade.

As apprehension and fear took over from solidarity and optimism, the opposition parties launched accusations against the government of incompetence, inefficiency and outright chicanery. The political debate quickly degraded into petty infighting. One of the much-discussed issues related to the availability, prices and use of facemasks which were initially not easily available. The opposition blamed the central government, the central government blamed the regions, and everyone blamed the European Union, the Germans, the Chinese and globalisation.

Another issue was related to how long the lockdown (Phase I) was to continue, and when and how the government would announce the restarting of economic activity (Phase II). Italian right-wing parties even organised meetings and demonstrations demanding Liberty and Freedom from the Dictatorship of Scientists.

But Italy seemed to be making progress in curbing the spread of the virus notwithstanding the political turbulence and infighting; the refusal of sections of the population to respect guidelines and protocols; and the absence of facemasks, hand-sanitisers and personal protection equipment. The rate of new infections dropped, fewer people were dying, the numbers of patients needing intensive care fell, and hospitals were finally managing to cope with the needs.

The country seemed to turn the corner and officially launched Phase II on May 4 with the reopening of selected activities. Four and a half million Italians went back to work. Parks, which were off-bounds, were opened, as were bars and restaurants, albeit only for take-away services. Selected retail outlets were also allowed to open including hairdressers and barbers (understandable) and shops selling children’s clothes (I guess children continued to grow during the lockdown and needed new clothes). People were also allowed greater freedom of movement for work, leisure and family visits, but only within the region where they lived or worked in.

These first tentative steps went well. Most people respected the protocols of wearing masks and not gathering in crowds. Shops, restaurants and coffee bars limited the numbers of customers they would serve at one time. But as usual there were exceptions. Even in Milan, which had been in the eye of the storm, many young people threw caution to the winds and gathered in the city centre and entertainment district. The country waited with baited breath for the next 10 days to see if infection rates spiked after this first relaxation of lockdown.

Luckily the infection and death rate continued dropping. Maybe it was the fact that most people behaved well, maybe it was the good weather and the high intensity of ultraviolet light that apparently kills the virus, or maybe it was the fact that many of the most vulnerable had already succumbed to the illness. Whatever the reason, the government was able to continue its easing of restrictions and as of June 3 most shops and activities were opened and travel restrictions within the country were lifted.

Life is slowly returning to a post-Covid normal. There are people on the streets but much less than before. Coffee bars, restaurants and gyms let in only a few customers at a time. Most people have a facemask even though many have it pulled down under their chin, and cinemas, theatres and concert-halls remain shut. People are beginning to talk about their summer holidays but it’s going to lean pickings without the usual flood of visitors from north Europe and Asia.

The government is now slowly turning its attention to Phase III, the economic recovery programme. According to the Bank of Italy, there is likely to be a fall of 9-13% in GDP. Many firms are expected to go bankrupt and poverty is set to rise. There are intensive discussions with the EU on a recovery package, on measures to reduce bureaucratic red-tape and inefficiency that is the hallmark of Italian officialdom, and the ever-present risk of mafia infiltration into state aid programmes. Hanging over all plans is the possibility of a resurgence in autumn, just as schools will open after a seven-month break.

Italy is out of the most difficult phase of the crisis, but it still has a long way to go to achieve social and economic normality.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 27^th, 2020.

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