
5 things that the world can learn from Italy's lockdown
10 MAR 2020
As an Italian citizen working closely with activists and young political leaders from all over the world, I have experienced the sadness of seeing my country going through all stages of the CoronaVirus outbreak while keeping an eye on developments elsewhere.
1. Act early
2. Orderly communication is key
3. You need competent people at the top
4. Your healthcare system will be under stress, pour money into it
5. There’s no way out: without a global response and real solidarity, we will all badly hit
Despite being one of the top budgetary contributors of the European Union, Italy’s request for assistance to get sanitary masks from its European partners fell in the void. France and Germany actually instaurate controls on the export of protective medical gear, in defiance of one of the fundamental freedom of the EU, the free movement of goods. In the early stage of CoronaVirus, governments' response seems to be focused on (re-)instating tougher border controls, instead of helping struggling countries. We shall all be clear: history proves that pandemics spread transnationally way before planes, cars, and even bicycles were invented - the Black plague run through the whole of Eurasia back 700 years ago - and while containment might help slowing down the spread, hardly any country will be spared by COVID-19. Global problems require global solutions at least as much as national ones. Basically, we should be ready to take the hit together.
Written by Andrea Venzon