Italians slowly venture out into the world again
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Italians strolled in the park, grabbed take-out cappuccinos and paid their respects to the astonishing number of dead as the European epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic gingerly woke up from the continent鈥檚 first and longest lockdown.
Officially, 4.4 million Italians were allowed to go back to work at construction sites, factories and manufacturing jobs deemed to be at lowest risk for contagion. Traffic ticked up in city centers, commuter and long-distance trains sold out and more people ventured out after restrictions on movement eased for the first time since Italy locked down on March 11.
鈥淲e are being careful, trying not to do too many things, but at least we are finally outside and breathing some fresh air,鈥 said Daniele Bianchi as he strolled through Rome鈥檚 Villa Borghese park.
Across the Tiber in Villa Sciarra, Valerio Pileri stood by the stroller as his two-and-a-half-year-old grandson scampered in the grass.
鈥淗e was going around and around again on the terrace with his bike, but it鈥檚 not the same as the villa,鈥 Pileri said.
Protective masks were ubiquitous 鈥 even the Swiss Guards started wearing them at the Vatican 鈥 and were required on public transport and inside cafes, restaurants and gelato shops that opened for take-out service.
But not all businesses that could reopen did, a sign that some owners decided it wasn鈥檛 worth it to serve a handful of customers or hadn鈥檛 managed to implement new social distancing and hygiene standards.
And any newfound sense of freedom was clouded by the first comprehensive reckoning of just how great a toll COVID-19 had taken.
Italy鈥檚 national statistics agency reported on Monday that 49 percent more people died in March than the average over the past five years, with some 25,354 excess deaths registered from February 20 to March 31, the height of Italy鈥檚 outbreak.
Since only 13,700 of those deaths were confirmed positive for the virus, Italy鈥檚 official COVID-19 toll of 29,000 is likely off by more than 10,000. The other deaths likely involved infected people who were never tested or people who died as an indirect result of the pandemic because the hospital system collapsed in the north, ISTAT said.
For the first time in two months, Italians were able to honor some of those dead with funerals, although attendance was limited to 15 people. Cemeteries also reopened for visits, with mourners told to keep their distances from one another.
鈥淚 feel a bit out of my comfort zone but my daughter is here, and as soon as the cemetery opened I came,鈥 said Paola Lazzaro as she visited her daughter鈥檚 grave at Rome鈥檚 Flaminio cemetery.
Italy is planning to test 150,000 with a pilot antibody test and roll out a mobile contact-tracing application, but both are behind schedule.
鈥淭he future is a big question mark,鈥 said Gianni Berra who served his first cappuccinos of the day to take-out only customers in Rome.
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