Rome has never been so empty, you can also hear the sound of the wind. Everything looks stuck in a moment, and nobody knows how to get out of it.
We're not allowed to get out of our flats without a good reason, the entire country is under lockdown. The government has called on people to respect the restrictive measures until at least April 3.
"There won't be a red zone," Conte told reporters. "But there will be Italy, a whole protected zone." Suspension of sports events, ceremonies, funerals, weddings and people are being asked to keep a distance of one metre. 14955 confirmed cases and 1266 deaths (13th march), there are increased fears Italy's health system will not cope. I don't even know the latest numbers, I don't care. 10k cases are enough for me.
Rome is frozen. People can't get out, there are lines out of the supermarkets, police on the street can stop you and if you're not able to prove that you got out for a good reason, you risk a maximum of 3 months of prison.
On the other hand, crossing the street has never been so easy.
Rome is one of the busiest cities in Italy, cars are everywhere. If you drive a car you hate everybody, and everybody hates you. The same happens if you ride a motorcycle or a bike. Pedestrians are just the last link in the chain of life here.
Everybody is worried about the future. "I have six employees and a mortgage, today we earned less than 100€" said a bar owner a few days ago. "I share a 4 rooms flat with 6 people, what if somebody's infected?" said a student. "I've lost my job and I don't know if I will receive the salary" said a waiter.
From March 12 shops, bars and restaurants are definitely closed. The government is about to take some financial measures to help businesses to face the situation.
We don't know what will happen, and this is the worst part of the cloister, but I believe that we can learn a lot from this situation.
In my opinion, we just discovered how many things we take for granted. We can now discern between basic needs and complex needs. Our basic needs, like eating and drinking, are still guaranteed. Our complex needs, like meet a friend or kiss your beloved one, are not guaranteed anymore.
We never know how important something is until we lose it.
And we lose it.
