Italians – 10 Days Ago

Quarantined Italians record messages to “themselves from 10 days ago” during the Coronavirus pandemic.

The truth is… well… it’s in the video. This disease spreads quickly and without prejudice for age, gender or social standing and the fewer human interactions we have with each other – worldwide – the better our chances of managing this crisis.

On Facebook, I’ve seen people in the U.S. criticizing the “socialized” healthcare here in Italy because of the terrible problems that are happening in the north of the country, where doctors are triaging patients based on likely survival rate. It’s not about the system of healthcare, it’s about healthcare specialists recognizing that they are in a war, and in a war, there are decisions that must be made as resources get stretched thin. Italians in those hard-hit northern cities are applauding their healthcare workers for trying as hard as they are to save the lives that they can save.

I do worry, though, about the U.S. and about the people there that do not have health insurance. Will they get tested and how will they get treated if they need treatment? My Italian friends are dumbfounded that regular healthcare costs money for U.S. citizens, let alone care in emergency situations like this. This, to me, is where a nationalized healthcare system could really be useful in America – making sure that everyone, no matter what their situation, has access to life-saving measures.

For us here in Cortona? We “restate a casa” – stay at home as this nation – and the rest of the world – tries to flatten the curve.