Pattambi's CPI MLA Muhammed Muhassin P talks a lot with his wife these days. “More than ever before,” he says with a wistful smile.
It has been over a week since his wife Shafaq Kasim, a research scholar in Camerino University in eastern Italy, has locked herself up in her room in a flat-like complex just outside the university. “But I think the panic is gradually setting in. I can sense it when I talk to her,” Muhassin told Onmanorama.
The panic stems mainly from the thought of the worst-case scenario. What if those huddled within the safety of their four walls get infected, especially if they are old and non-Italians? As hospitals in Italy are getting flooded with COVID-19 patients, Italian authorities have been forced to adopt a priority system for admissions based on a simple but ruthless calculation made during World War II: Who has the better chance of survival? Those above 65 will obviously lose out. If even the old in their country are ignored, where does that leave the non-Italians?
“Bringing her back to India at this point is highly risky. We are just hoping that some positive news comes out of Italy in the coming 10 days,” Muhassin said.
At the moment, Shafaq is safe and comfortable. A material physics researcher, she has all the time in the world. “There is enough time for her to read and write. The only problem is she cannot access the lab as the University was shut down on March 10,” the young MLA said.
Shafaq is well stocked, too. There are enough food and other basic necessities in her room, which she shares with an Italian female scholar and a Malayali researcher. Just when things started to turn bad, the Malayali researcher had gone to live with her husband in another part of Italy. So there is just two in the room.
Though there is a complete lockdown in Italy, it is not as if the residents are never allowed outside. “Once a week they can visit the only supermarket that is open in the area,” Muhassin said. “There is a lot system and when your coupon number comes you will be informed and then you are allowed to walk down to the supermarket. At the supermarket, there will be a queue where each person will have to keep a distance of one-and-a-half metres from the person in front. Only three will be allowed inside the supermarket at a time,” Muhassin said.
The Italian government sees to it that the stocks are constantly replenished in the supermarket.
There are serious worries, too. Only one person in the area around the University had been tested positive for the virus but a hospital facility nearby is filled with COVID-19 patients. “Going out to the supermarket, even if it is necessary for survival, is therefore scary,” Muhassin said.
The irresponsible behaviour of Italians is also adding to the fear. “My wife was telling me that in spite of the lockdown many Italians could be found loitering around the empty streets as if Sars-CoV 2 was some obscure biochemistry term they needn't bother about,” Muhassin said. “Now, the Italian police has started to intervene to keep people inside homes,” he added.
Italy, the worst affected European country, has recorded more than 2,200 coronavirus-related deaths so far and expects some 90,000 infections by the end of April. On Tuesday (March 17), the number of active cases in Italy was 27,980.
