The small town of Codogno, 15,000 inhabitants, located about sixty kilometers south of Milan, woke up this Sunday with the strange feeling of having only a few hours to live "almost normally". Like Veneto, a village near Padua, this town in Lombardy is under strict quarantine by the Italian authorities. There is even talk of the arrival of the army in the hours or days to come to prevent any attempt to enter and leave an area with outlines still blurred this Sunday morning.
The measure is extreme - it is a first in Europe - but understood by a large majority of the population frightened and still amazed by the sudden spread of the coronavirus epidemic of which Codogno is one of the very first foci.
Even the 10 o'clock mass has been canceled
While waiting for the fateful hour when it will be necessary to remain confined at home, some inhabitants, many of whom wear a health protection mask on their mouths, still offer themselves a stroll through the streets of the center. It is the only possible Sunday activity since none of the usually open cafes has left its terrace and no business, except for a fruit and vegetable seller, has dared to raise its curtain. Even the 10 o'clock mass was canceled, like all events, sporting or cultural, gathering more than a dozen people in the same place.
Francesco, 15, trumps his boredom by walking his young dachshund dog Amélie on the church square. "I'm a little scared and that's why I wear a protective mask, says the teenager, long curly hair under an American basketball cap stamped" Lakers ". I know that I will not go to school for at least a week. So I'm going to stay at home, playing PlayStation with friends while waiting for it to pass. "
Discreetly, the young man says he thinks of this resident of Codogno "whose name is Mattia" and his wife Valentina, both hospitalized in a disturbing state after having contracted the coronavirus. And under the guidance of an older man who stands nearby, he obeys the "two meter" rule between himself and someone else to avoid contamination.
"We must not panic"
Alice, a young mother, takes advantage of the morning sunshine to take a few steps in the alleys of the park in the central square of Codogno. "We must not panic, explains this thirty-something who works in Milan for a non-governmental organization of aid to developing countries. My job pushes me to do many missions in Africa, where I was still a few days ago. It allows me to put things into perspective. I think the government is taking matters well and doing what it takes to avoid the worst. "
All the same remains this question. How was Mattia himself infected? Like the health authorities, the inhabitants are content with hypotheses and resign themselves, in an atmosphere increasingly weighed down over the hours, to comply with the rule of total confinement.
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At noon, the carabinieri patrols are becoming more visible and urgent. Some police officers are even trying to intimidate the handful of journalists dispatched to cover the event, by prohibiting them from taking any photo or video in the city. The streets are gradually emptying. The hour of the quarantine, with its batch of dams around the commune, approaches. There is very little left but to go home, turn on the television or the radio to hear the latest news.