Italians are beating the social isolation imposed by the country’s COVID-19 lockdown by taking to their windows and singing in unison, with videos of the phenomenon racking up thousands of views online.
Since Monday, a series of decrees from the Italian government have drastically limited citizens’ movements, with vast swathes of the economy shut down and people instructed to leave the house only when strictly necessary.
Italy has been struck by the worst European outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 17,000 cases and 1,266 deaths.
Photo: AP
All cultural events have been suspended, prompting some celebrities to start organizing online performances and museums to put virtual tours online.
Another attempt to boost morale has come in the form of impromptu music at people’s windows. One recording in the Tuscan city of Siena has been viewed more than 600,000 times on Twitter.
In it, residents sing the traditional Canto della Verbena about the city from their windows, including a rousing verse with the words “long live our Siena!”
Photo: Reuters
Italian singer Andrea Sannino posted a compilation on his Instagram feed of people singing his song Abbracciame (“Embrace Me”) at their windows in the southern city of Naples, his hometown.
“A day I will tell my children and grandchildren about,” the singer wrote, adding: “Thank you for making me cry floods of tears!”
In another video purportedly of an apartment building in the northern city of Turin, residents can be seen on their balconies trying to perform the Macarena, a Spanish dance song, in unison.
On Friday evening in several districts of Rome, music and singing could be heard coming from people’s windows, including renditions of the national anthem.
Another tune heard was Grazie Roma, a popular song from the 1990s, which includes the words: “Tell me what it is which makes us feel like we’re together, even when we’re apart.”
Another social media initiative has seen Italians put up signs outside their homes saying “Andra tutto bene,” or “Everything will be OK.”
The slogan is accompanied by a picture of a rainbow — often drawn by children at home as school is canceled.
The effects of the nationwide quarantine can already be measured in lower air pollution levels and falling nitrogen dioxide emissions, with the decline particularly evident in the northern region that entered lockdown ahead of the rest of the country.
The drop in pollution has been detected by the Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite, and researchers concluded that it was primarily the result of efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19.
“We are very confident that the reduction in emissions that we can see coincides with the lockdown in Italy causing less traffic and industrial activities,” said Claus Zehner, the satellite’s mission manager at the European Space Agency.
The Copernicus Sentinel-5 satellite tracked nitrogen dioxide emissions across Europe from Jan. 1 to Wednesday, using a 10-day moving average.
Nitrous oxide accounts for 6 percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions, according to Rhodium Group, a research firm that produces annual estimates.
Most of that comes from agriculture, although fossil fuels use also contributes to the total.
PASTA PUNCHLINE: Billy McLean’s spoof poking fun at misinformation on the coronavirus was meant for friends, but is being eaten up by frazzled Britons It started off as an ad-libbed joke for some friends in a soccer banter group and ended up being heard by vast numbers of Britons within hours. However, the man responsible for a joke WhatsApp audio clip that claimed the UK Ministry of Defence was about to requisition Wembley Stadium to cook the world’s biggest lasagna has said his viral success also shows the risks of believing everything that gets sent to you on the messaging service. Billy McLean, a 29-year-old Londoner who works in software sales, came forward to the Guardian to identify himself as the creator of the much-shared clip
‘AN HONORABLE TASK’: The brigade to Italy is the sixth contingent of doctors the nation has sent abroad to aid governments contending with the COVID-19 pandemic Cuba has dispatched doctors and nurses to Italy for the first time this weekend to help fight COVID-19 at the request of the worst-affected region Lombardy, it said. The Caribbean nation has sent its “armies of white robes” to disaster sites around the world largely in poor countries since its 1959 revolution, with doctors on the front lines in the fight against cholera in Haiti and against ebola in West Africa in the 2010s. Yet with the 52-strong brigade, this is the first time Cuba has sent an emergency contingent to Italy, one of the world’s richest countries, demonstrating the reach of
There are growing concerns for the health of Rokia Traore, a Malian singer who has been on hunger strike at the Fleury-Merogis Prison near Paris since she was arrested on March 10 on allegations of kidnapping her daughter in a child custody dispute. “I am very worried,” said Kenneth Feliho, her lawyer. “She is only drinking. She has not been eating for over a week and her immune system is weak.” Among those calling for the musician’ release are African stars including Salif Keita, Youssou N’Dour and Angelique Kidjo. Damon Albarn, who performed with her in the group Africa Express, wrote: “We demand,
FATAL IDEA: The nation’s drugs regulator is curbing use of hydroxychloroquine, which Donald Trump has promoted for its alleged potential to treat COVID-19 Australia’s drug regulator has been forced to restrict powers to prescribe a drug undergoing clinical trials to treat COVID-19, because doctors have been inappropriately prescribing it to themselves and their family members, despite potentially deadly side effects. The anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine and the similar compound chloroquine are currently used mostly for patients with autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, but stocks in Australia have been diminished thanks to global publicity — including from US President Donald Trump — about the potential of the drug to treat COVID-19. Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine have potentially severe and even deadly side effects if used inappropriately, including
RSS