Local man in Italy: "It will take time to come back from this"

An Athlone man who is currently on lockdown at his home in northern Italy has said the coronavirus has already devastated the Italian economy.

Living in the pretty hillside town of Bormio in Lombardy, high up in the Italian Alps, Patrick Murphy says the town of 5,000 people is “70% dependent on tourism” and should be packed at this time of year, right in the middle of the ski season.
“We could have up to 25,000 tourists here, but instead of that, the ski slopes, thermal baths and hotels are all closed and there are no tourists here,” he says. "The long term damage is done, the economy is devastated, and it will take a long time to come back from this" 
Speaking to the Westmeath Independent from his home in Italy on Monday of this week, Patrick, who grew up in Mayfield Grove in Athlone, says the Italian government had “no option” but to impose a complete lockdown on large swathes of northern Italy in a desperate attempt to halt the spread of coronavirus. 
That lockdown has now been extended to cover the entire country which means that the 60 million people who live in the country will only be able to travel for work, medical reasons or emergencies until at least April 3 next. 
Coronavirus cases have now been confirmed in all 20 regions of Italy, which is the worst hit country outside of China, where the flu-like virus originated.
Patrick Murphy and his Italian-born wife, Monica, were planning a big family get-together on the first weekend of May to celebrate the Communion and Confirmation of their 10-year old son, Nathan, which would have included a visit by Nathan's grandparents from Athlone, Pierce and Niamh, but they have all but accepted that it will not now go ahead.
“Even if things have calmed down a bit by April 3, there will be such a backlog of Church ceremonies that it will take a long time to re-arrange them,” says Patrick.
Up to the time the lockdown was imposed, all Church services across Lombardy had been voluntarily suspended, but it is now a government decree that all churches be closed, along with all schools, universities, museums, swimming pools, cinemas and a ban has also been imposed on weddings and funerals.
Despite the severe restrictions being imposed on families like the Murphys, Patrick says both he and his wife are “very lucky” that they are still earning a wage, as many of their friends work in the tourist industry and have seen their livelihoods completely wiped out.
In his current job with Levissima, which is one of the biggest bottled water companies in Italy, Patrick Murphy works on a rotational basis at the moment. "66% of our staff are working from home during this time of crisis with the other 33% in the factory, but it is not possible to have everyone working from home due to the production schedule of the factory as there always has to be people on the factory floor,” he explains.
His wife, on the other hand, who is a teacher, has been at home for the past three weeks, along with their daughter, Martha (aged 12) and 10-year old Nathan. “The children get their homework over the internet and they send it back to their teachers the same way,” says their Dad. Martha has also managed to continue with her violin lessons as she is part of a very small class, which enables the students to be taught virtually by way of a video conference call.
Shopping has proved to be another challenge for the Murphys as the supermarkets have very restricted opening hours and supplies are very much depleted. “All the smaller shops only allow customers to go in one at a time, and everyone else has to wait outside, so it’s difficult,” says Patrick, who adds that all restaurants and bars have to close at 6pm each evening, so most families stay home. “Italians are very sociable people so they love to be out and about, and maybe that is one of the reasons why coronavirus spread throughout Italy so quickly,” says Patrick Murphy. "Already in our small town we have had two cases diagnosed so far, and we are expecting more.”
As to the public reaction to the virus itself, and to the restrictions being imposed, the Athlone-born Bormio resident describes it as “two extremes…there are Italians who are paralysed with fear about what might happen, and then there are those who say it’s only like a flu, but I suppose only time will tell.”