A message of hope from Italy
THE figures emerging from Italy make for stark reading. Covid-19 has already claimed the lives of some 5,500 people, while the amount of people infected stands around 60,000. Two weeks ago, the government implemented a complete lock-down, with soldiers and policemen patrolling the streets and people not allowed to leave their homes without good reason.
Wexford native Diane Pianca, a daughter of Eddie and Anne Busher of Bernadette Place, finds herself in the midst of the crisis there. She lives in the northern province of Treviso in a small village in the foothills of the Alps, 70km north of Venice, with her husband Jerry and their three children. She says they are all trying their best to adapt to what has become their ‘new normal’.
‘Two weeks have passed since we were put on lockdown, and we are adjusting, not only to our new normal but to the constant changes that the Italian government must hand down to us,’ she said. ‘In the past week we have seen increases in the amount of people testing positive for the coronavirus and unfortunately an increase in deaths. Closer to home in my own local council, we have six people who have tested positive, some are recovering in hospital and some in isolation at home.
‘Within the numbers of the six locals, is the parent of a child from my son’s class. She is also a nurse in our local hospital and every day she is on the front line, doing an incredible job to save lives and helping to keep our hospitals running. When I look out my front door towards the little alley that leads to our main street, I can see her sister’s house and the kitchen window she opens to wave and say hi to us. As I start a new day and a new week, I see these faces and why it is so important for us to stay home and only move about when it is absolutely necessary.’
Over the past week, Diane has tried to continue a daily routine with her own family. Home-schooling and exercising with the children in the garden and walking the
dog, even if it is just around and around her garden. They marked St Patrick’s Day and what is father’s day in Italy on March 19, for which Jerry was presented with a special homemade cake, drawings from the kids and a bottle of beer with a blue ribbon around it. Meanwhile for St Patrick’s Day, Diane proudly hung out the Irish flag and it now remains fluttering on their porch, right beside and in complete solidarity with an Italian one. ‘From our back garden life seems normal,’ Diane said. ‘We can hear the noise of the lawnmowers, voices of our neighbours and our children playing and laughing but it is when we go to the front of our house, we can see and hear that life is now different. There isn’t as much traffic on the road, no one is going for a stroll past our house and in recent days, the people who do drive pass are wearing masks and sometimes gloves.’
‘Even with the changes to our daily life, we keep positive by keeping our children in a routine of school work, taking this time as quality family time and doing some fun activities and keeping them in contact with their school friends by phone or WhatsApp. I read a story to our children in English every night and we say prayers as a family at meal times and before bed.’
While there were some indications that the infection and death rates in Italy are slowing, Diane believes that the current lock-down period is likely to be extended.‘As we continue into this lock-down, my family and neighbours remain positive, expecting and accepting the changes and being responsible,’ she said. ‘As our mayor said we are fighting a war against a faceless enemy and we must make sacrifices for a while longer. In my opinion, we must retreat to our homes to defeat it.’
As Ireland and Wexford braces for a surge, Diane sends a simple message: ‘Stay safe. Be positive. Be responsible, and we will get through this together.’