Eleven Italian villages now live cut off from the world. Castiglione d'Adda, Fombio, Casalpusterlengo, Zorlesco, Bertonico or, of course, Codogno, the epicenter of the galloping epidemic of coronavirus which has suddenly hit the Lombardy region since the end of last week in northern Italy. The containment of tens of thousands of inhabitants is now effective and strict in order to contain the wave of contamination.
During the maneuver, the carabinieri (gendarmes) and agents of the Guardia di Finanza, the equivalent of our customs services, supported since Monday by a reinforcement of a hundred soldiers. Their mission is complicated: install roadblocks to prevent anyone from entering or leaving a large "red" area around these villages, ie several tens of km2 in the countryside. At one of these "check points", at the entrance to Zorlesco, two police officers stand guard, their Alfa Romeo parked across the road. A situation that creates a lot of misunderstanding, and sometimes even generates tension. As if the population did not believe, despite the alerts from the authorities, the effective establishment of such a device.
VIDEO. "No one can enter or leave the red zone"
Leonardo, who thought he could cross the area behind the wheel of his Fiat Punto to treat himself, with his girlfriend, to a romantic picnic on the banks of the Po in the town of Piacenza, is paying for it. "We will be forced to make a huge detour and go through the A1 motorway which is chargeable, resigned the young man in his twenties. It's still a big problem not being able to go where you want… ”Randazzo, a shopkeeper, also turns around, death in her soul. "I understand that there is danger but it will prevent me from working for how long this story? She wonders.
A lead atmosphere
Some however succeed in crossing the passage, under the watchful eye of the men in uniforms who carefully scrutinize each authorization paper. Heavy goods vehicles loaded with foodstuffs that must supply food stores and supermarkets are among them. The ambulances also, some of which pass all screeching sirens, led by agents dressed from head to toe in health suits. Danielo, in his 60s from Zorlesco, was also able to return home to Zorlesco. “I am on dialysis and I therefore left this morning (note: this Monday morning) by ambulance from the area to go to the hospital as usual and I just have to go home. All this does not make too much sense if I am allowed to go back and forth and not the others… ”
The containment system gradually tightened during the day. It was indeed still possible, until Monday noon, to sneak through the cracks by taking the least traveled roads in the region. By escaping on routes along the gigantic agricultural zones of the region, we were able to return to the middle of the red zone, cross some of the now isolated villages and even walk the streets of Codogno. Inside the area, life goes on and on, despite a lead atmosphere reminiscent of disaster films. We now come across a majority of residents wearing masks.
In Castiglione d'Adda, 5000 inhabitants, we line up in front of the few food shops that open sporadically. In front of the pharmacy which - like all those in the red zone - must remain open, we witness a strange ballet. Customers, greeted on the sidewalk by an Italian civil security volunteer who offer health protection masks, are not served inside the pharmacy. Visibly panicked at the idea of being contaminated herself, the pharmacist, mask on the face and latex gloves on her hands, takes the prescriptions from a small open window overlooking the back of the store and then hands the medicines back requested by the same opening.
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A new question is added today to the many already unanswered and which concern the inhabitants. How long will this detention last?
VIDEO. "Here, the locals rush into the supermarkets that are still open"