KUALA LUMPUR: AS Italy’s death toll from the Covid-19 outbreak crossed the 1,000 mark, Malaysians stranded in parts of the country, which is under lockdown, are anxious.
Norul Ridzuan Zakaria, 50, who lives in Turin, expressed hope that the Malaysian government would expedite the evacuation of citizens and their immediate families from the country .
He said based on his observation of the way the virus was spreading in Italy, he doubted that the Italian authorities could contain it in a timely manner.
“On Wednesday the number of deaths reached 800, jumping by over 30 per cent from the day before,” he said on the alarming surge of infections in the health crisis dubbed Italy’s “darkest hour”.
He said people from the country’s northern regions, such as Lombardy, which are severely affected by the outbreak, have been flooding to nearby regions, such Piemonte, into cities like Turin and Rome (Lazio) due to the closure of grocery stores over the past weeks.
Norul feared that the surge of people to these cities would adversely affect residents in the region.
“We fear that very soon our food supplies will also run low. Most shops are closed and only 10 people are allowed in at any one time.
“Many are scared that they will get infected while waiting in a queue,” he said, adding that many grocery stores and pharmacies in Italy were open.
Norul, who works as a vendor for a subsidiary company of the Italian Space Agency, said spring season would create “the perfect storm” for the virus to spread rapidly.
“It’s the annual flu season now, so many hospitals don’t have the ability to handle the surge of patients. We have been advised to seek medical attention only when they are serious cases, while private doctors are difficult to get a hold off because they are so busy.
“Most people travel via public transport here. Since we want to minimise social contact, my wife, our two kids and I have started riding bicycles to run errands.”
He said the government’s advisory for people to stay indoor was being enforced.
Nor Sharizan Sulaiman, 38, said she had just recovered from a fever on Friday after undergoing self-quarantine at home, while her husband was running a temperature up to press time.
“We have to check in with our family doctor as the hospitals only allow those from the sensitive group, such as the elderly, to be admitted.
“Even when my 6-year-old child fell sick last week, they barred us from entering the hospital,” said the mother of two, adding that her children had recovered from fever but had bouts of cough.
Sharizan, who works with the Malaysian mission in Rome, said Italy adopted the stance after its infamous Covid-19 “patient one”.
It was reported that the 38-year-old patient, dubbed a super spreader, had gone to one of the hospitals in Lombardy where a bulk of infections was subsequently traced.
Described as someone who is fit and had no travel history to China or had come in contact with anyone who had travelled there, the person was believed to had left a trail of infections when there was a 36-hour delay in receiving treatment.
“I am not sure if Italy has started contact tracing in the country, or if it is doing it as aggressively as Malaysia.
“What is certain is that the virus came unexpectedly and nobody had expected the infection to spread this rapidly. The Italian government has banned flights to and from China and adopted measures to restrict people’s movements.”
She said there had been reports of Italians who travelled to China but displayed symptoms only after 26 days.
She said a majority of Italians have been told to work from home, with those who were sick or displayed flu symptoms ordered to undergo self-quarantine.
“Many bars, restaurants and hotels are temporarily closed. Only pharmacies and supermarkets are open. Italian Minister Giuseppe Conte has given an assurance that stocks for goods would be replenished, but there would be restrictions for consumers.”
Although there was no panic buying in Rome, she said, the lockdown of Lombardy last week had forced people to travel to Rome the following day where they did their shopping.
“It is feared that the virus may have crossed regional borders,” she said, adding the situation could be eased if everyone had self-quarantined earlier.
She believed the situation was under control and there was no need to evacuate Malaysians and their families.
“Lombardy was put under lockdown two weeks ago, but its capital, Milan, was shut down on Feb 24. As for Rome, schools were told to close from March 27 to April 3,” she said, adding that weddings and public events were cancelled.
The lockdown is expected to be extended as the Italian Easter break begins on April 9 and ends on April 14.
In Paris, France, Shamini Ann Dupèbe believed a city-wide lockdown was imminent following the announcement by President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday of the closure of nurseries, schools and universities.
“We’ve decided to buy supplies and food that are enough for a week, just in case.
“In the early days, people took little notice of this because it corresponds with the annual flu season, but all that changed when the country raised the alert level.”
France recorded 3,661 positive Covid-19 cases on Friday with a death toll of 79.
Despite the Thursday announcement, she said the city appeared to be running normally.
“There are probably slightly fewer people and tourists, but businesses are as usual. I don’t see many people wearing face masks. There was even a Woman’s Day march last Sunday.
“For my husband and I, we just follow the government’s advisory — wash hands, don’t touch faces, avoid huge crowds.”
Shamini said the French government’s response had been immediate.
“Apart from the closures of schools, those above 70 have been advised to stay at home. The main idea is to protect society’s most vulnerable. Many people agreed that Macron was not sugarcoating the health crisis and there was honesty in his delivery.
“Public transport is running as usual, although companies have been urged to allow people to work from home. There is this agreement that forbids landlords from evicting tenants during winter, which has been extended for two months.”
The socio-economic measure echoes that of Italy, when the country had announced a freeze in mortgage payments during the crisis.
She said apart from the outbreak of the virus, the population of France, which is double that of Malaysia, had made it even more challenging for the authorities to take immediate action.
“In a way, Malaysia has the experience of handling such a crisis. Over the years, our level of preparedness has improved as we have handled similar outbreaks, such as the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, Nipah Virus and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. We may have established a more solid system than some European countries.”
The home-maker said the French were preparing for the worst.
“We are bracing for a lockdown, but many of us don’t know what the implications are should it happen. I was talking about this last night with my husband, who is a geologist.”
Due to the uncertainties, Shamini said, her husband could be told to work from home soon.
If the crisis continued to affect France’s economy, she said, it would cause people to lose their jobs.