It feels almost unthinkable.

Almost like end times, Really, You know, we walked down the main roads and there's there are no cars.

It leaves a place that tends to be quite noisy and touchy feely and ones I saw yesterday, someone walking around with a tape measure, keeping people distance.

So it it feels very strange and a CZ you say he's such a lively, affable place.

Normally Italy such a tourist destination.

How much preparation time did you all get, you know, to get to the supermarket to prepare for this kind of locked down?

Well, that's a That's a good question because the three emergency decree was leaked on Saturday. 00:00:59.020 --> 00:01:3.280 Eso originally it was only about 1/4 of the country that was gonna be in quarantine. 00:01:3.280 --> 00:01:18.150 So long, Buddy Emilia Romagna and the Venator, the sort of the industrial Heartlands, the richest, most important economical places in Italy that was leaked, which meant that tens of thousands of people jumped in there.

Cars got on trains and buses to head home to place in the central South Italy, which caused the opposite If he intended, um, intended effects of this emergency decree, it was leaked.

We knew it was coming.

We woke up on Sunday morning to discover that again, the Children we're gonna have four weeks off school on.

Then last night again, it was in the offing.

The whole country was announced that it was in locked down.

So no weddings, no funerals.

You know, church serves even.

This is in Italy.

Even Syria football matches have bean canceled for months.

That must be almost unthinkable for people. 00:01:57.920 --> 00:02:0.690 And tell me, can you go to the supermarket? 00:02:0.690 --> 00:02:2.350 Can you go for a short walk? 00:02:2.940 --> 00:02:4.490 What are you able, Thio? 00:02:5.190 --> 00:02:5.500 Yeah. 00:02:5.510 --> 00:02:10.150 You can go to the supermarket as normal.

There's being sort of panic buying as I think there has been in Australian.

That certainly has bean in Britain.

Um, it's slightly odd because a ll The doors are wide open to allow air to circulate.

The only one working there has masks.

You know, the normal sort of barging someone out.

The way to get to the the shelves isn't happening, but they're open.

Is normal, quite a lot of shops and giving you a ticket so that you know, outside the shops and there's an orderly queue outside in the air, you can go for a walk.

You could go for a bike ride, but you're not allowed outside the city, the city area, if you like.

Of course, Italians are well known to for bucking the rules.

And I understand there's something called Fabrizio, and the prime minister's warned against that.

What is that? 00:02:55.640 --> 00:03:2.810 Well, I'm afraid it's one of those stereotypes about Italians that, like a lot of stereotypes, is a bit unfair but has a bit of truth as well. 00:03:2.810 --> 00:03:6.280 It basically means slyness or coming on DDE. 00:03:6.800 --> 00:03:10.480 You know, it really means bending or avoiding the rules.

And that's partly what I think people thought was happening on Saturday evening when lots of people tried to escape the quarantine area.

I think actually here there's a sense that Italians are being far more sensible than most other European countries, you know.

We are here making great sacrifices and understand why and can't quite understand when we look at other countries, you know, just over the weekend there were 3000 people in Paris gathered, dressed a Smurfs to greet the world record of Smurf gatherings.

And we're looking at that thinking, you know, we're taking it very seriously and uniquely other countries aren't so. 00:03:47.460 --> 00:04:2.480 I think, actually, you know, Italy feels it's doing what's needed and looking at places like Britain scratching their heads and all the grafts suggest Britain and France and Germany gonna be exactly where Italy is in about 10 days time. 00:04:2.490 --> 00:04:9.870 Indeed, as a kind of the natural flow on continues, it's interesting that the Italian government seems to have been very open with the information.

Do you think that's helped people get on board?

Yep, I think I think it has.

The other thing the Italians have done which other European countries haven't is they've tested huge amounts of people, you know.

By the middle of last week, the World Health Organization suggested that Italy had tested 25 26,000 people, not just those who were showing symptoms, but those have been in contact with those who were were infected France.

By that time, it only tested 1000.

So I think part me, it's because they've tested many more people.

Um, I think there are a lot of other other issues that make Italy sort of perhaps more susceptible and some in some ways less susceptible to this.

You know, it's unless mobile society, so there's less. 00:04:59.290 --> 00:05:3.220 There's not that sort of frenetic herring around the country that you might have in front. 00:05:3.220 --> 00:05:8.180 In Germany, a lot of people live where they were born, and they die where they were born to. 00:05:8.180 --> 00:05:11.310 It's a much more sort of sedentary, family based society.

Are people panicking about the impact economically?

Yes, yes, they are.

Because, as you know, Bev, Italy's economy has been bouncing along the bottom for the last 20 years.

You know the forecast growth forecast for 20 twenties north 200.2%?

Um, the the amount the percentage of people work in the tourist industry is 6%.

And that's gonna be very hard hit by this by this locked down Tobias.

We wish you well, And let's hope it it is over very, very soon.