Italians in China caught between two COVID-19 epidemics
14 March, 2020
Sara Platto's mother in Italy called her "crazy" for residing in Wuhan even as the virus-hit city was quarantined in January. Now she's offering advice to people back home how to cope.
Platto, who lives with her 12-year-old son at the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, rejected four offers of evacuation from the Italian government after refusing to abandon her two cats and deciding it was safe enough to stay in China.
"It isn't Ebola," Platto, who works at Jiangnan University, told AFP.
She has spent a lot more than 50 days cooped up in the home, taking turns with her son to use one computer for online classes and work.
Italians enduring China's health crisis and draconian measures that contain left them effectively housebound for weeks now end up watching similar scenes unfold in the home.
Italy - where in fact the virus has killed a lot more than 1,000 people in only over two weeks, which makes it the hardest-hit country outside China where over 3,100 have died - has imposed a lockdown unprecedented in Western Europe.
All stores aside from pharmacies and food shops have already been closed and residents are to remain at home except to go to work, shop for provisions, or seek medical help.
"They are freaking out, because it's something they're not used to," Platto said of men and women in her home city of Brescia in the northern region of Lombardy, where the majority of Italy's infections have already been detected.
"What I'm saying to every person is don't panic, because panic is worse when compared to a virus."
SURVEILLANCE
Platto's Chinese neighbours in Wuhan were touched by her decision in which to stay the city, where in fact the virus was initially detected in December and has been cut off from the world without air transport since Jan 23.
They brought her a "big bag of spaghetti" and a note that said "Sara, be strong" after learning that she was from Italy.
But as the quantity of infections in China falls while overseas outbreaks continue steadily to grow, Chinese authorities have stepped up surveillance of foreigners for concern with imported cases.
Beijing on Wednesday ordered all international arrivals to the location to go into 14-day quarantine, while airline passengers from Italy, Iran, South Korea and Japan are being handled separately from other travellers.
In a single central Beijing district, neighbourhood volunteers and police repeatedly demanded information from Italians specifically, including making unannounced house calls, even for folks who hadn't left China recently.
Francesco Abbonizio, a youth football coach in the administrative centre, spent the first fourteen days of his time on a recently available trip to Italy avoiding social contact - and today must quarantine himself again after time for China on Wednesday.
"Someone in my family was very scared of the virus and refused to meet up me even following the fourteen days," he said.
"Right now all are locked down in their home."
TRIP CANCELLED
Marco, a Beijing resident working in the theatre industry, has not left China because the start of the outbreak and cancelled a well planned trip home to Italy in March, his first in over two years.
He said he did not want to "create panic" arriving from China in his Tuscan hometown of only 16,000 persons with his wife, who is Chinese.
"People are not always so excellent at rationalising things," he told AFP, adding that he didn't want his family to endure any negative reaction from other residents of his hometown.
Before Italy confirmed its first cases of the virus, Chinese communities in the country said they faced racist behaviour.
Chinese tourists were spat at in Venice, a family group in Turin was accused of carrying the condition, and mothers in Milan used social media to demand Italian children to be kept away from Chinese classmates.
"I am worried more for my children actually," Marco said, "and about the poor sense of community that my country is having lately."
Source: