Italy is currently facing one of the most delicate phases of the Covid pandemic: the gradual release of the lockdown following the second wave of the virus. And this is happening just before Christmas, the period par excellence of shopping and convivial encounters. The fundamental and most dangerous shift is that which determines the transition of a region from a red zone (the highest level of emergency) to an orange zone (the intermediate level). The difference between the two colours is that, although in both zones bars and restaurants are only accessible for take-away consumption, in the orange zone shops reopen and people can move within the municipal boundaries.
The results so far have been dangerous. In both large and small cities, people have been pouring into the streets from day one, creating queues and crowds outside shops, in front of bars and bringing back glimmers of social life. Obviously, this is not only an Italian phenomenon, but it is something that is repeated in many other countries. And the most recent examples that come to mind are the crowds at the ski resorts in Switzerland or the people celebrating the loosening of the lockdown in London by spilling out into the streets, almost as if it were a national holiday.
The most recent examples that come to mind are the crowds at the ski resorts in Switzerland or the people celebrating the loosening of the lockdown in London by spilling out into the streets, almost as if it were a national holiday.
In the Italian public debate, there is a vibrant discussion on the subject. According to some, people are behaving irresponsibly and endangering everyone. According to others, we should instead stop blaming people who have been at home responsibly for almost a month and now want to do nothing but buy presents for their loved ones or take a walk through the Christmas lights. But two things are certain. The first is that if the situation continues in this way, it is likely that the contagion curve will rise again, and that new restrictive measures will have to be put in place at the beginning of the new year – a severe blow to the Italian economic system, as for many others. The second is that it is not clear by what moral paradigm one can claim that the people who have now returned to the streets are endangering the community (assuming that they follow all the health norms): after all, if the restrictions have been lowered it is because the contagion curve has dropped, so what is wrong with going shopping or taking a metro?
