From Devastation to Normality: A Firsthand Perspective of the COVID-19 Crisis in Italy

Rory Sullivan, Investigative Journalist

October 11, 2020

 When Nicole Hierons traveled to Milan, Italy in September of 2019, she never expected that in less than six months, this wonderful opportunity to experience Italy’s vibrant culture would turn into being trapped in one of the epicenters of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following her high school graduation, Nicole thought it would be a great idea to take some time to travel, and what better way to do that on a budget than as an au pair? It sounded like the perfect situation: live in a beautiful city, travel around Europe, and have a free place to live while also getting paid. However, by March 2020, Italy had reached 100 000 COVID-19 cases and 10 000 deaths. Suddenly, every aspect of Italian life, including Nicole’s trip, came to a screeching halt. 

Nicole ended up staying in Milan for nine months before returning to Canada in July 2020. She was able to retell her unique experience of living through the pandemic in two different countries and how they compare in terms of strategy and response. During the initial spread of COVID-19, Italy was a common name in global news due to the devastation it had brought on the country. Nicole admitted that although Italy was late to react, it should still be used as an example to countries still struggling: “They acted too late, but they were able to turn it around”.  

One of the major barriers that Italy faced, which in turn caused their delayed response to the pandemic, was their decentralized government system. There would be a governor in one area of Italy denying the presence of COVID-19, and one in a different area taking the necessary precautions. Not only did Italy’s decentralized nature of government cause problems, such as the uncoordinated nature of communication between the federal and provincial governments, citizens’ distrust of the healthcare system due to financial issues didn’t help either. Once the Italian government finally began to adopt a more serious mindset, officials quickly initiated extremely strict measures, especially when their initial response of only targeting "red zones" in the country, proved unsuccessful. In Nicole’s words, “Italy is way more strict [than Canada and the United States]. I remember being so scared even if I had to go outside. Even when it got better, masks were mandatory wherever you went. It doesn’t matter if you’re just walking in the streets - you have to wear a mask. As soon as I arrived [back] in Canada, I still wore my mask everywhere, but I realized no one else was.” Lombardy, where Nicole lived, was the hardest-hit area of Italy with over 87 000 cases. It was slow to react due to the lack of response from their governor; however, the measures that were introduced once the severity of the pandemic was recognized were extremely strict compared to countries such as the US and Canada. For example, all tourists were shut out of the area, and all persons had to remain indoors. Even dog-walking was limited to the street corner and back. 

Nicole made sure to emphasize that the success of Italy’s strict measures should not only be credited to the government’s response; the compliance of citizens is equally, if not perhaps more, impactful than that of the government. The world has been tentatively watching as Americans have taken to the streets to protest what they deem an infringement of their rights and freedoms. There have been protests against lockdowns, and more recently, protests against having to wear a mask. Nicole stated that “due to the fact that people think they’re free and have the right to do whatever they want [in the United States], that’s going to create a big barrier to helping the problem.” In Italy, resistance to lockdowns and mask mandates simply do not exist like it does in the United States. Nicole described Milan as “essentially a ghost town”, especially because many of the wealthy residents retreated to their homes in the country. “In Italy, if you’re not wearing a mask, you’re seen as not a good person. Here in Canada it’s way less; people judge you less, but I feel like in that [refusing to wear a mask] people should be judging.” In Milan, if you were caught not wearing a mask in public, you would be heavily fined. Unlike in other countries, the public perception of masks in Italy is not a negative one; masks are not seen as an infringement of liberties or a political issue. With US populations opposing masks, state governments refusing to enforce mask policies, and an all-around lack of cohesiveness, it is clear that they have learned nothing from Italy’s experience. 

So, what lessons should be taken from the tragedy that Italy experienced? It is clear that the cooperation of the public may be the most important aspect of preventing the spread of COVID-19. The United States, and to some extent, Canada, are making the same mistakes that Italy made at the beginning of 2020. The difference is that Italy was willing to change their strategy in order to introduce drastic, but effective, measures. Currently, there are 175,559 cases in Canada with a little over 9, 500 deaths. The resistance against COVID-19 measures is nowhere near as chaotic as the US, but there have been anti-mask protests in many cities including Montreal, Vancouver, and most recently, Ottawa. One organizer of an anti-mask protest, named Hugs Over Masks , stated that their main goal is to “to make sure that people actually know the real harm and effects [of wearing masks]”. This type of protest is especially dangerous as it is completely baseless; there has been no evidence that masks cause any harm at all. Quite the opposite actually - masks (along with other preventative measures) can help slow the virus, and they have created no damage or harm to the wearer. The Asthma Canada Society even confirmed that most of those with asthma can safely wear a mask with no issues. Why was this type of resistance not seen in Italy? Is it as Nicole said, that citizens of Canada and the US see themselves as entitled to a certain amount of freedom? Is this something that can be fixed?

The situation in Italy is certainly something that should be studied when discussing COVID-19 measures. When Italy first began dominating global news, it seemed as though they would never get a handle on the situation - yet somehow they are almost “back to normal”, as Nicole described it. It seems as though the mutual cooperation of both citizens and government is the main key for Italy’s success; without the government’s strict enforcement of COVID-19 regulations and the lack of resistance from Italians, Italy’s crisis would have continued to worsen. American society may continue on its current path of ignorance and playing the blame game. President Trump has made his opinions on the pandemic clear, which include accusing testing as the reason for rising cases and openly denying COVID-19 statistics that demonstrate his country's lack of success.

There is no doubt that Canada has been doing more than its southern neighbour, but is it enough? Many provinces have been seeing a rise in cases in the past couple of months, “some recording numbers that haven’t been seen since the height of the outbreak” according to CTV News. A second lockdown may be in our future, and we should take it as an opportunity to follow Italy’s lead: strict enforcements, mandatory mask wearing, and large fines for those who don’t follow the rules. The spread of misinformation through protests cannot continue, and if we have any hope of ‘getting back to normal’, Canada needs to make changes. Italy learned the hard way, and we have the chance to fix our mistakes before the situation worsens. This is not a political issue, nor is it a human rights issue concerning our freedoms, as many people make it out to be. This is a global issue that affects us all; and as we can see through Italy’s experience, as well as Nicole’s personal account of her time, we can only succeed together. 

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