"I'll go shopping, finally, if I can do it!" Jokes an onlooker, walking towards the small supermarket in the Monte del Gallo district, behind St. Peter's station in Rome. At the entrance to this small food store, five customers are lining up outside. An agent behind the sliding doors filters the entrances to ensure that fewer than ten people are inside.
Despite the drastic restrictions taken by the Prime Minister on Monday, the Italians can go out to do their shopping… provided they keep at least one meter apart. As the 60 million Transalpines left the table Monday evening after watching the television news, the programs were cut off by the direct speech of Council President Giuseppe Conte. The containment measures in Lombardy and fourteen provinces in the north of the country have been extended to the whole territory, he announced. Never seen.
"But can I at least go buy some food?"
If the boot, the most affected country after China, with 10,149 cases and 631 deaths, really wants to stem the epidemic of coronavirus, "we must change our habits immediately," insists the chief executive. The future of Italy is in our hands. Since Tuesday, the Italians have been forced into isolation. These next four weeks, they will be able to travel only under certain conditions, in particular for professional or health reasons, provided with a certificate proving this. Violators risk up to three months in prison and a 206 euro fine. And the sanctions are applied: 48 people were fined this Tuesday in Sicily for having followed a funeral procession despite the ban on rallies.
"But can I at least go buy some food?" “, We wonder since the day before in conversations by phone or message, not without a hint of panic. Life in the capital continues, year after year under a spring sun. The streets of the popular Monte del Gallo district, a few hundred meters west of the Vatican, are far from deserted. At the market, the crowds remain that of a Tuesday morning. "We are even working more than usual," says a market gardener. People are at home, so they come more easily and, probably out of fear, buy more. "
Tourists have disappeared
Hands protected by plastic gloves, he moves a crate full of vegetables. "I have no problem with supply," he swears, as if to reassure the few customers around him. The market is bordered by avenue Grégoire-VII, leading to the Vatican. In the distance appears St. Peter's Basilica. In the shade of its dome, the hordes of tourists have vanished. In a nearby hotel, the receptionist looks gray. On the phone, yet another cancellation. Only a fifth of its establishment is filled. "A few more days like this and we will have to close," he breathes. And to rail against the virus, the measures of the authorities.
Rome is frozen. Place Saint-Pierre is empty. A few police officers patrol under the tall columns which embrace him. The Vatican has just announced it: the basilica and the square will be closed to tourists and guided tours until April 3. Believers will be able to attend the audience of Pope Francis on Place Saint-Pierre on Wednesday, settling in well-spaced chairs. They will listen to the sovereign in front of giant screens: the pope's homily will be broadcast live from his private library. A change and not the least.
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