“You have no idea what’s coming”: Italian warns of six ‘stages’ of a global pandemic
An Italian social media user has warned citizens of other countries about the impacts of the global coronavirus pandemic as the country remains under lockdown.
The user took to Reddit to share what it’s like living in the country, where the COVID-19 pandemic has killed more than 1,800 people.
“To the rest of the world, you have no idea what’s coming,” the person wrote.
“This situation is bad, but what’s worse is seeing the rest of the world behaving as if it isn’t going to happen to them. We know what you’re thinking because we were in your place too.”
The person went on to outline the six stages they experienced, which are different from the pandemic influenza phases as defined by the World Health Organisation.
The user said ‘Stage 1’ began when the first cases were reported in the country. “I’m not 75+yo so what could possibly happen to me?” the Italian wrote.
“I’m going to live my life as usual, there’s no need to freak out.”
The number of cases started increasing in ‘Stage 2’, when the government would declare “red zone” and quarantine small cities. “Well that’s sad and somewhat worrisome but they’re taking care of it so nothing to panic about.”
‘Stage 3’ would see the number of reported cases doubling up in a day, along with rising death toll. In Italy’s case, a quarter of the country was under quarantine while the rest carried on as usual.
National health emergency could be observed in ‘Stage 4’, with the health system struggling to keep up with the increasing cases.
“Hospitals are at capacity, entire units are cleared to make space for coronavirus patients,” the post read.
“There aren’t enough doctors and nurses … There’s no shifts any more, just work as much as you can.
“Of course doctors and nurses are getting infected, spreading it to their families.”
Because there were not enough places for every patient in health facilities, medical professionals would have to distribute resources as best as they could.
“At this point is like being at war: doctors have to choose who to treat based on their survival chance,” the person wrote.
“That means that the elderly and trauma/stroke patients can’t get treated because corona cases have priority.”
In ‘Stage 5’, the entire country would be declared under quarantine. People could go to work and shop, but would not be allowed to move from their commune except for special reasons.
“Now there’s fear, you see a lot of people with masks and gloves around but there are still are people who think that they’re invincible, who go to restaurants in large groups, hang out with friends to drink and so on.”
The person said in Italy’s ‘Stage 6’, most businesses except supermarkets and pharmacies are closed. People were only allowed to move around if they had certification, and those found outside with no valid reason could risk fines.
“That’s what the situation is like now today as of the March 12th. Keep in mind that it all happened in around 2 weeks... 5 DAYS FROM STAGE 3 TO TODAY.”
The person warned that countries outside of Italy, China and Korea should be wary of the “consequences” that the virus brings.
“You have no idea what’s coming to get you. I know because 2 weeks ago I was the one who had no idea and though it wasn’t bad,” the user wrote.
“It’s hard to see all these countries act like it’s not coming and not taking the precautions that are necessary for the well-being of its citizens while they still can.”
As of Sunday, there were 153,517 confirmed cases of COVID-19 globally, with 249 being in Australia and 6 in New Zealand.