Coronavirus in Sardinia and the UK

I must confess that, until about three weeks ago, I was guilty of not taking the coronavirus outbreak as seriously as I might have done. It seemed to be something mainly confined to mainland Italy, especially the north, and with Sardinia being an island (albeit an island larger than the whole of Wales) and no positive cases having been reported here I wasn't very concerned. Then, first there were a couple of positive cases in Cagliari, and a researcher (and her partner) returning to Nuoro from a conference in Udine tested positive. After that, horror of horrors, a dozen or so health workers at San Francesco Hospital (about two miles away from us) tested positive. I found this distressing on several levels. Aside from the risk, especially to older people and those whose health problems have weakened their immune systems, there was the problem it created for the hospital in functioning normally, especially with the risk of further infection. I have a personal interest in this because in 2012 I had a mild heart attack and was treated at San Francesco Hospital where the treatment I received was excellent. Furthermore, I have given private English lessons to three of the doctors who work there, all of whom were extremely nice people. It's easy for some people to sneer and crack jokes but when you realise the pandemic may be directly affecting people you know personally, it's a different matter. Now the whole of Italy has been in lockdown for over two weeks and, strange as it may seem, I'm somewhat relieved and not at all bothered about staying at home most of the time for the time being, however long that might be.

My wife took early retirement at the end of the last year and since then we've very much been taking things at the gentle pace for which, by and large, Sardinia is renowned. However, we have had to put on hold our daily outings for coffee and aperitives at our favourites bars, Nobel 26 in ExMe and Caffé Tettamanzi among others, and it's been cappuccino and caffé normale (or 'espresso') at home instead since Tuesday 10th March. 

How hard Italy has been hit by the coronavirus has made the news globally and now I'm beginning to cast an anxious eye towards the UK because I still have so many friends and relatives living there. There was widespread astonishment here and elsewhere at the initial response of the UK government at how to deal with the spread of the virus. The idea that the British could 'take it on the chin and create 'herd immunity'. 'La roulette di Boris Johnson. Il Regno Unito ha una strategia molto rischiosa per contenere il coronavirus' said the Italian press (Boris Johnson's Russian roulette. The UK has a very risky strategy for containing the coronavirus). Especially shocking to the Sardinians was the idea that this might mean the premature death of, at the very least, 250,000 of the elderly and more vulnerable members of society in the UK. One member of my wife's extended family was moved to write the following about it:- 'Boris Johnson has no shame in communicating to the entire world that his country's economy is more important than the life of his elderly co-citizens and that they can be sacrificed for the sake of GDP. In Sardinian culture elderly people have always enjoyed special consideration because of the knowledge and wisdom they can bring. Moreover, a society that venerates appearance and wealth and has zero consideration for the lives of its elderly is inevitably condemned to decline.' I myself was disappointed but not surprised by the headlines in some British newspapers,  including this monstrosity in the Daily Telegraph (sometimes described as the Boris Johnson fanzine).

A pathological incapacity to even try to be impartial seems to be a prerequisite for anyone wishing to write for that particular publication! How dare anyone question the government's 'herd immunity' strategy! We're British! We know best! We don't need to take any notice of those strategies that have been successful in slowing down the virus in other countries! They can't compete with our British exceptionalism! (They appreciate sarcasm in Sardinia.) Fortunately, the UK has been forced to change it's strategy by models created by a team at Imperial College, London and displaying the folly of the original strategy (and the idiocy of some who write newspaper headlines). Even so, as I write, just after the UK went into 'full lockdown' last weekend, there still seems to be a lot of confusion with regard to what 'full lockdown' actually means and who key workers are. On social media some of my friends are saying not much seems to have changed!

After the aforementioned outbreak of COVID-19 at San Francesco Hospital in Nuoro there were exhaustive tests done on the other health workers and 120 tests returned negative results and Sardinia is still one of the least affected regions. As of yesterday there were 421 positive cases and, sadly, the fatalities on the island numbered 15. In Nuoro there were 26 positive cases and in the last few days the number falling victim to the virus in my home town of Bristol has overtaken the number in Nuoro. Now do you understand why I worry about my friends and relatives in the UK? Here, people appear to be taking the lockdown a lot more seriously. They are observing the recommended distance for social distancing. If my wife or I have to go out for any essential reason we always wear gloves and a mask and I always wash my hands immediately when returning to the apartment after having been downstairs to check the post or take stuff out for recycling. Some may be a bit blasé and claim the virus only has about a 3% fatality rate and some people experience mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. That may be true but it's not the point. The point is that the coronavirus is extremely contagious and those who are asymptomatic can pass it on to the elderly or those living with pre-existing health conditions for whom it can be deadly. Be sensible. Be responsible and keep others safe as well as yourself.