I kept telling myself covid-19 is just a bad flu. Then my friend posted this photo.

My friend posted a photo of a convoy of 15 army vehicles transporting cadavers through our town in Italy because the crematoriums are working beyond capacity. 475 deaths yesterday alone.

Those who reads my articles know that I live in Italy. I happened to be traveling in the U.K. when my town in Italy became a red zone. Since then, America put the travel ban into effect against continental Europe, and then the U.K. as well. I made it back to America, but I had to leave my partner in England and my life behind in Italy. I don’t know when I will see either again. The same and worse is happening to my friends. I have food, shelter, a place to bunker down and self-quarantine in. I consider myself very lucky.

After seeing the photos of the armored vehicles, I reached out to a friend in Italy who decided to stay there with her husband. She has been quarantining for weeks now and provided this update on the latest of what is happening.

Her debrief was way worse than I even imagined. If you’re in America, please read this as a reminder to treat self-quarantining and social distancing with maximum gravity. Please think of the families of the people in the convoy. We must do everything possible to flatten the curve in America.

What does the lockdown look like? Are people really not allowed outside for any reason?

You may only leave your house for essential work, a medical emergency, the grocery store, or the pharmacy. What else is open? Hardware stores, banks, the post office, & pet food stores. If you leave your home, you must carry with you a self-certifying document which states your name, DOB, address, and that you are out for any of the reasons stated above. This document is admissable in court. If you do not have it, there is a 200 euro fine.

What if you do have it and you need to go get supplies or medicine?

If you have tested positive for CV and are caught outside, you can be charged with homicide.

People in America are bulk-purchasing hand sanitizer, toilet paper, and other goods like crazy. What are the grocery stores like in Italy?

Grocery stores are one in, one out. Shelves are full. No one is panic buying. Stop it with that nonsense. The US isn’t going to close down grocery stores. We go about once a week, less if possible.

What’s open besides supermarkets and pharmacies? How else is life impacted?

Weddings and funerals are canceled. Bars, restaurants, gyms, schools, universities, hair salons, nail salons, spas, and pools are closed. This was supposed to last until April 3rd. The Senate is discussing extending that timeline, which I have been expecting. We have already been self-isolating for nearly a month, well in advance of nationwide shutdown, and our industry is closed until further notice.

You were posting photos of you going jogging. Are you able to maintain some semblance of normalcy?

Today we were told no more going running or walking. People saw others doing so, so they did as well, and then we had groups forming again. Parks are closed/off limits. You can only go out alone, not with husband/wife/kids, and you must keep to your neighborhood. People have to walk their dogs, obv, but they must stay close to home.

Okay, so about the picture you posted. What was the deal with the convoy?

Today we saw on the news that in Bergamo, one of the worst-hit cities, the crematorium was maxed out at full capacity which is 25 bodies a day. The army had to come in to remove the rest of the bodies and take them to another nearby crematorium. 475 people died yesterday, in one day, AFTER 10 days of mandatory quarantine. We surpassed 35,000 cases in about 1 month. Imagine those numbers without quarantine.

This is absolutely crazy. I heard that the hospitals were over-crowded as well?

The hospitals are overflowing. There are not enough ICU beds, ventilators, or technicians to operate them. Doctors and nurses do not have adequate protection. The N-95 masks are impossible to find in Europe. Many healthcare workers are being sent home to be quarantined because they caught the virus while saving lives. Healthcare professionals are being called out of retirement, and recent medical school graduates or even current students are being recruited.

It’s really smart what they’re doing. I also hear they are sending the students to elderly peoples’ homes and making house calls to save the more senior medical staff for the hospitals. Is it enough, though?

Well, because of the short supply of resources, doctors must now do triage. So, where there are not enough beds and ventilators, an older person or immunocompromised person with a smaller chance of surviving is not going to get that bed or ventilator or oxygen if there is a younger, healthier mother or father of 2 who has a better chance of surviving.

Those who die in the hospital do so without families being able to say goodbye. There isn’t enough protection for the healthcare workers, so they can’t give it out to families to enter a quarantined zone. Protection must be saved for doctors & nurses — many still do not have it. So, in essence, patients die alone, and the family cannot hold a funeral. Which brings us back to the convoy of vehicles carrying bodies.

For me, today was the turning point in the narrative of covid-19. If you hadn’t been taking this seriously before now, I don’t know what other evidence to offer.

If you have been taking self-distancing and self-quarantining seriously, take a deep breath in and release. You are already doing everything possible minimizing risk for yourself and others. You’re doing amazing and please just keep it up as much as possible. We can do this!