When In Rome… And New York

Shortly after we arrived in Rome yesterday, we read reports that Italian Prime Minister Conte has ordered a shut down of all internal travel – banning the sort of trip we took from Cortona. Timing is everything, I guess.

As we had seen yesterday, Rome’s Leonardo Da Vinci (usually referred to as Fiumicino, after the city west of Rome where it’s located) airport was a very quiet place this morning. All terminals have been closed except for one, where a few domestic and even fewer international flights are arriving and departing this week.

Everyone in the airport, travelers and employees alike, were outfitted with masks and latex gloves. It seems like this is “the new normal” and that our public lives will involve isolating ourselves from others for some time to come. One of the things that is important to note is that this protection is as much about protecting your neighbors – no matter how distant- as it is about protecting you.

Before going through the standard security check, we were asked to fill out a form that asked some simple coronavirus-related health questions: had we had any of the three major symptoms of cough, fever or difficulty breathing. The form also asked if we had been near anyone who had tested positive for the virus, and then what flight we were taking and seats on that flight we were occupying.

After security and before Italian passport control, our temperatures were taken with an infrared thermometer and then matched up with a photograph of our faces. We passed with normal temperatures.

On the flight itself, we were asked to wear masks for the whole ten-hour trip, except when eating or drinking. The trip itself was normal in that way modern coach-class travel has become with terrible food and slightly outdated movies. One variation from that norm was that the airplane was only about one-quarter full, so it was easy to maintain a safe social distance from other passengers.

When we arrived in New York city’s John F. Kennedy airport, we were met on the jetway by a group of police and healthcare workers, who again took our temperatures (again fine) and collected another form that we’d been given during the flight. Similar to the departure form, it asked whether we’d been in a high coronavirus incidence country, reminded us that we were obligated to self- quarantine for fourteen days and asked for the address of that quarantine location.

Once we exited the Jetway, it was clear that we had left Italy and had entered the United States. In Italy, from small towns like Cortona to the big city of Rome, it was rare to see anyone with out a mask and gloves. At JFK, perhaps 20% of the people were wearing that protective gear, and no one appeared to be maintaining any sort of a safe distance from one another. I remarked to Mary Pat that it was as if the people there were not aware that they were living in the U.S. epicenter of the pandemic.

It’s as if the experiences of Italy and other eurozone countries have had no instructional effect and that “life as usual” is an effective response to this terrible situation. Could this attitude be a result of the mixed messages this country has sent its citizens as the virus advanced on our shores? During our layover in New York, I saw two reports that at least partly define this contrast in response between Italy and America. One was that, while Italy reported many new cases of Covid-19 and many new deaths from it, the rate of that increase appears to be slowing. The other report was that the number of Covid-19 cases and deaths had increased dramatically in the U.S. in the previous 24 hours. Social distancing and isolation work. They may take time, but they work.

Sitting in the departure gate lounge, we saw a live coronavirus news conference starring Donald Trump. In addition to the now-expected superlatives, lies, self-praise and misinformation, the president of the United States said that he thought that perhaps the country should let people go back to work and school at the end of the fourteen day stay at home directive – it would be better for the economy. While we know Trump ties a successful economy to his own personal success, is it worth letting Americans die for a higher number on the Stock exchange? Will Trump feel good about himself when the U.S. is #1, but this time it’s in Covid-19 deaths?

This terrifyingly difficult time requires strong, capable, data and science-based leaders. Around the world, many heads of state are leading in just that way. Tragically, Donald Trump is not among them.