Mucha fuerza, amigos... Molta forza, amici...

All of Italy is infected, especially the northern regions (Lombardy, Emilia Romagna, Piedmont, Veneto, Liguria) but there are also problems in the centre and now also in the south. The suspension of most of the activities has begun on the Saturday at the end of February and is now foreseen until at least the end of Holy Week.

Schools, many companies, service offices, only the supermarkets, the newspaper kiosks and the pharmacies remain open but a more rigid regime with a curfew is now being considered. You can only go out one at a time for essential purchases or to take the dog out, you cannot go jogging or to the park, you can only walk within 200 meters of home and if there is a need (to go to the doctor, to the hospital) you must have a model with a statement of reasons. If these are not genuine reasons, you can file a complaint and get a fine. The police and the army are responsible for the entry and exit of the city centres. The terrible thing is the lack of places in hospitals, of breathing apparatus, even of masks, of doctors and nurses (exhausted by the effort and many infected too).

Army trucks leave the northern cities daily with coffins that can no longer be found in the cemeteries. Gabriella, I cry and tell you, people are dying without their families being able to see them or participate in the funeral ceremonies.

The most problematic thing for the living is the closure of the schools, it is 4 weeks and it is not known when they will open. What creates a lot of problems for the most disadvantaged children who live in absolute poverty (more than 1 million in Italy) is the lack of activities, the closure of small houses without resources, the impossibility of connecting as their peers can do to distance learning with tablet smartphone computers. This is a worldwide problem because there are countries in similar situations, but there are also countries where the lack of schooling for children has been going on for years, not just for a few months.

I have written to the CA asking them to take a position on this problem. 

Last but not least. Cultural, social and associative life is paralyzed. MCE has had to suspend its state congress, training days, meetings, projects with schools. We communicate by skype but it is very difficult to do everything.  We have organized a blog senzascuola.wordpress.com to collect proposals, games, activities for the lack of class and to suggest to the teachers not to teach only cards and exercises. This is life at the time of covid-19. Giancarlo