Eye of the storm: the second nightmare of COVID-19 has affected Lombardy

In early summer, even Italy was praised; Although it was very difficult at first, the crisis was overcome. But now there are more and more coronavirus infections, and the government’s decision this week to announce new restrictions on public life has dispelled all illusions that the country has escaped the shadow of the pandemic.

The best example is the rich northern region of Lombardy, which suffered the worst of the first wave of the virus in the spring. There are currently more than 470,000 active coronavirus infections in Italy and more than 100,000 in Lombardy.

The government had already declared Lombardy a “red zone” last Tuesday. This means that movement is generally prohibited here and all shops, bars and restaurants are closed for two weeks.

Allegations to the administration

The surge in new infections and the return to quarantine immediately reminded residents of the end of February, when an unknown virus began to roam the region, rapidly flooding both hospitals and funeral homes.

And this time, the capital of Lombardy, Milan, is also suffering, having avoided the most painful blows of the first wave. The pandemic then devastated cities like Bergamo, Lodi and Brescia, and now Milan, home to more than 1.4 million people. people, about 4 thousand people sign up every day. new cases of coronavirus.

There seems to be some difficult months ahead, and people are surprised to ask: why does it seem that we are still wandering in the dark? Are the threatening numbers in Lombardy a coincidence, or is it again the result of the inability of politicians to respond effectively to the crisis?

The answer seems to be somewhere in between. The opposition accuses the regional government, led by Attila Fontana, spokesman for the League of Leagues of Right-wing Radicals, of not having learned from the first wave of the pandemic.

“The biggest mistake was that we did not activate contact tracking in the region,” said Emilia De Biasi, secretary of the regional branch of the Democratic Party. “The situation in the city (Milan, ed.) Is out of control, we cannot imagine where the new chimneys are.”

Are the threatening figures in Lombardy a coincidence, or is it again the result of the inability of politicians to respond effectively to the crisis?

He added that the regional government has not provided adequate funding for the GPs to whom patients must go first. This would make it easier for hospitals that are now clogged.

In Lombardy, it is true, so there is a shortage of doctors. Efforts to gather teams of doctors to visit symptomatic people in their homes, thus preventing a more intense spread of the infection, have paid off, and not just in Lombardy. The region is also trying to hire residents to work, but it is probably too late.

Hang up and other preventive actions. At the beginning of the pandemic, there were so-called COVID-19 hotels in Lombardy, where patients with relatively mild symptoms could recover peacefully without infecting their relatives or others.

However, the creation of these spaces is no longer the responsibility of the Civil Protection Agency, but of the regions themselves, which only started negotiations with hotel owners in the autumn.

I’m not ready for the second wave

The scope of the evidence is also worrying. Massimo De Rosa, head of the Five Star Movement in Lombardy, pointed out the lack of evidence: “Everything still depends on the samples, on the will of the people to verify. But the evidence is not enough, especially in the region with the highest number of cases. Now we are seeing the consequences. “

Clearly, the regional government ensures that everything can be done. According to Giulio Gallera, head of Lombardy’s health system, “the efforts are titanic,” despite many years of cuts by the state in health care.

“It just came to our attention then. We will open 20 to 30 new test centers in the next 10 days. But yes, we have to lower the curve, otherwise it will hurt us in 15 days,” Gallera told the popular television program Che Tempo Fa.

Lombardy also lacks flu vaccines, which could further complicate the situation in the coming weeks.

Doctors and nurses also warn that the nightmare of spring, when the dead had to be transported from hospitals in Bergamo by military transport, could return.

Hospital beds are already low and ambulances transporting COVID-19 patients have to queue at reception. Finally, there is a shortage of flu vaccines in Lombardy, which could further complicate the situation in the coming weeks.

“Gloves, mask, special hat, cape, special shoes, a second pair of gloves. I’m ready to go into the red zone. I didn’t miss this ritual, it took me a long time to realize that I was back to everything, ”wrote Andrea Artoni, a doctor who works in one of Milan’s largest hospitals, on Facebook.

In the end, it’s not just those on the front lines who suffer – patients waiting for help with other illnesses will now have to wait even longer. And all because the Lombardy authorities were not preparing for the return of the coronavirus in the fall and winter.

I will have to resist again

When retired veterinarian Filippo Maraffi, who was diagnosed with cancer two years ago, came to a Bergamo hospital for an examination, “only one of the four offices was operational, there was a shortage of staff.”

According to F. Marffi, patients like him now again avoid screening and, in general, the necessary procedures on a regular basis because they do not want to become infected with the coronavirus. COVID-19 can cause very serious complications in people with cancer.

“The bureaucracy has stalled in recent months, although it is understandable. But if the procedure for home visits by nurses is approved, now it would be possible to care for other patients who exist anyway, ”said the Italian.

Clearly, the crisis has affected everyone: people are tired, frustrated, angry. Demonstrations are still taking place here in Milan and elsewhere, some of which are led by the far right, and businessmen, especially restaurant and bar owners, fear that another quarantine will ruin their plans.

It is true that in hospitals there is no time to think about politics or another quarantine blow to the economy: more and more patients are in need of intensive and urgent care. More and more people die.

F. Tursi: I still see those desperate eyes and my heart aches. We have to persevere and persevere again.

“We knew that when the winter and the cold arrived, we would face a situation like the one we saw in the fight. But nobody imagined that the figures would be like this in October,” said Francesco Tursi, pulmonologist at the main hospital in Codonjo, where the outbreak began in February.

He was infected with the coronavirus in March and was sick. The man says he still remembers the physical suffering and fear he felt for him and his patients: “I still see those desperate eyes and my heart aches. We have to persevere and persevere again.

Today we are better prepared, but we have to live with COVID-19 until there is a vaccine and there are no specific medications.