Fear of the virus has turned Milan - the vibrant northern city - into a ghost town. The streets of Italy in these northern cities, which are affected by fears of coronavirus are reported to be empty. The metropolis seems to be paralyzed.
But Gerarta Zheji, an Albanian diaspora activist in Italy, and the lawyer Darien Levani, in a skype link with at Euronews Albania, say that this epidemic is being experienced with much calmness by Albanians but also by Italian citizens.
This panic is not experienced in the daily life of Italy. Life is flowing smoothly, and shops and bars remain open.
Citizens do not panic even though the masks, which are being used for the most part as a precautionary measure, are over in stores and pharmacies.
They say that there have been undertaken preventive initiatives such as carnival suspensions and school closures in some regions.
Gerarta Zheji says that the Italian media is following the situation step by step. On the mainstream online media portals, all news related to updating the situation for coronavirus is open and everything is free.
“It is a choice that citizens can read as much as possible and be informed. On the other hand, the Prime Minister himself on his Facebook page is making updates every few hours from the operating center of the Italian civil protection”, she explains.
Mrs. Zheji says that yesterday at a press conference directly on Facebook, the president of an Italian region announced that the schools would be closed by the next day.
"The Prime Minister called and said, please wait, you have no right to do this, we will coordinate tomorrow with you and all the other presidents of other regions and then you will take these measures," she adds.
According to her, administrators in Italy often try to take action in a non-coordinated way, but since today has begun the nationwide coordination of the prime minister so that the lines of action are the same across the country.
The lawyer Darien Levani says the advice of doctors and experts is the same.
"Experts say masks don't serve that much, are needed more for sick people. There is a big problem, the fact that the whole field of health is provincial. Another role that is calming, whether doctors or pharmacists have tended to calm down, is to say that there is no greater risk than other diseases and this is positive because it affects psychologically the people," he says.
But according to him and the activist Zheji, the fact of the malfunctioning of protocols at the Kodonja infection center has led to the spread of the virus in Italy is true.
However the testimonies of those who have passed the virus are not numerous in Italy and some of them are being treated in Albania.
“They have mild symptoms and they don't have to go to the hospital, and the rest who need to be treated at the hospital are not in a serious condition. This is another element that must be told to people. All those who have lost their lives are of old age and also persons with other pathologies and it is the complications of all these pathologies that have led to death. This is what the experts say,” said Ms. Zheji.
But Gerarta Zheji, an Albanian diaspora activist in Italy, and the lawyer Darien Levani, in a skype link with at Euronews Albania, say that this epidemic is being experienced with much calmness by Albanians but also by Italian citizens.
This panic is not experienced in the daily life of Italy. Life is flowing smoothly, and shops and bars remain open.
Citizens do not panic even though the masks, which are being used for the most part as a precautionary measure, are over in stores and pharmacies.
They say that there have been undertaken preventive initiatives such as carnival suspensions and school closures in some regions.
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| Darien Levani and Gerarta Zheji |
“It is a choice that citizens can read as much as possible and be informed. On the other hand, the Prime Minister himself on his Facebook page is making updates every few hours from the operating center of the Italian civil protection”, she explains.
Mrs. Zheji says that yesterday at a press conference directly on Facebook, the president of an Italian region announced that the schools would be closed by the next day.
"The Prime Minister called and said, please wait, you have no right to do this, we will coordinate tomorrow with you and all the other presidents of other regions and then you will take these measures," she adds.
According to her, administrators in Italy often try to take action in a non-coordinated way, but since today has begun the nationwide coordination of the prime minister so that the lines of action are the same across the country.
The lawyer Darien Levani says the advice of doctors and experts is the same.
"Experts say masks don't serve that much, are needed more for sick people. There is a big problem, the fact that the whole field of health is provincial. Another role that is calming, whether doctors or pharmacists have tended to calm down, is to say that there is no greater risk than other diseases and this is positive because it affects psychologically the people," he says.
But according to him and the activist Zheji, the fact of the malfunctioning of protocols at the Kodonja infection center has led to the spread of the virus in Italy is true.
However the testimonies of those who have passed the virus are not numerous in Italy and some of them are being treated in Albania.
“They have mild symptoms and they don't have to go to the hospital, and the rest who need to be treated at the hospital are not in a serious condition. This is another element that must be told to people. All those who have lost their lives are of old age and also persons with other pathologies and it is the complications of all these pathologies that have led to death. This is what the experts say,” said Ms. Zheji.