COVID-19 Update - Conte 11 March 2020

Wednesday, 11 March 2020 21:00 Written by
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I would like to begin by thanking, first of all and once again, the doctors, the health workers, the researchers who, as I speak to you, are working tirelessly in hospitals to combat the health emergency, to treat our patients. I also want to thank all of you, who are respecting the measures that the Government has taken to combat the spread of the virus. I thank you because I know that you are changing your habits, you are making sacrifices, I know it is not easy, but I also know that with this your renunciations – small or large – you are making a great contribution to the country.
Italy, we can say it strong, with pride, is proving to be a great nation, a great, united and responsible community. At this moment the whole world is watching us: they certainly look at us for contagion numbers, they see a country in distress. But they also appreciate us because we are showing great vigour and great resilience. And I am deeply convinced that tomorrow they will not only look at us again, and admire us, they will take us as a positive example of a country that, thanks to its sense of community, managed to win its battle against this pandemic. We are the first country, in Europe, hit hardest by the coronavirus, but we are also the ones who are reacting with the greatest strength and with the utmost precaution, becoming day after day a model for everyone else.
A few days ago I asked you to change your deep-rooted habits of life, staying at home as much as possible, coming out only for the bare necessities. The vast majority of you responded extraordinarily. ...... Now, now is the time to take it one step further. The most important one.
Italy will always remain a unique area. But now we are closing all commercial activities, retail shops, except grocery stores, pharmacies and para pharmacies. We are closing shops, bars, pubs, restaurants, leaving the possibility to make home deliveries. We will close hairdressers, beauty centers, canteen services that cannot guarantee the distance of 1 meter. As far as productive and professional activities are concerned, smart working must be implemented as much as possible, holidays and paid leave for employees should be encouraged. Non-essential factory departments will be closed too. Factories will continue to carry out their production activities provided that they assume adequate safety protocols to protect their workers to avoid contagion..... Of course, essential public services, including transport, the utilities of banking, postal, financial, insurance and all those necessary activities, however ancillary, are guaranteed.
Activities in the agricultural, livestock and agri-food processing sectors will be guaranteed, including supply chains that offer goods and services related to these activities.............
The mother rule remains the same: we must limit travel to work activities, health reasons, or reasons of necessity such as shopping for food. It is important to be aware that we have recently begun to change our habits, we will see the effect of our great effort only see in a few weeks, a couple of weeks. Therefore, no one should think that tomorrow, in the coming days, we will be able to measure the impact of these measures. We need to wait a couple of weeks to get a hit. And this is very important, so I want to say that if the numbers continue to grow – which is not at all unlikely – it does not mean that we will have to rush to take new measures immediately. We must not make a blind race to the abyss, we must be lucid, measured, rigorous, responsible. ....
And I want to tell you one last thing: if we abide by these rules, we will get out of this emergency faster. The country needs the responsibility of each of us, the responsibility of 60 million Italians who make small, great sacrifices every day. For the duration of this emergency. We are part of the same community. Each individual is benefiting from his own but also of other sacrifices. This is the strength of our country, a "community of individuals" as Norbert Elias would say. We stay apart today to embrace each other with more warmth, to run faster tomorrow. We are going to make it all together.
Read 1482 times Last modified on Thursday, 12 March 2020 11:15
Marcello Cordovani

Marcello Cordovani is the founder and co-owner of VITORITALY. He is also the Tour Manager of the private tour of Italy

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