In Codogno, the local cafe has long since opened its yellow doors again. Traffic flows both in and out of the city and it is no longer mandatory to wear a bandage outdoors.
Even though there are few traces of the pandemic on the surface, it is still difficult for the almost 15,000 inhabitants to forget what happened two years ago.
– Suddenly everything stopped. Nobody understood what happened, says 42-year-old David.
– RED ZONE: Codogno was called the “red zone”. Police and the military blocked all roads in and out of the city- Photo: Antonio Calanni / AP
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Two years after the first outbreak, Italy has been through a series of waves of infection. Many hoped that the omicron wave this winter would be the last, but in early March, the infection suddenly began to increase again.
On Tuesday, almost 100,000 new infections were registered. The same increase is now seen in a number of other European countries.
– It is clear that this is not over, says the Italian doctor and professor Massimo Galli to the Italian news agency Adnkronos.
Removes measures with increasing infection
At the start of the pandemic, a number of measures were quickly put in place in Italy. On 31 January 2020, Italy declared a state of emergency in the country that has lasted until now.
Although the infection is increasing again, the Italian government has decided to ease the very latest corona measures in the country.
On 31 March, the state of emergency will be removed and from 1 May, it will no longer be necessary to wear a bandage indoors. Several experts criticize the government for easing while the infection continues to increase, while others believe it is high time.
– We must be realistic. The situation is completely different now than at the beginning of the pandemic, says researcher and microbiologist Andrea Crisanti to 24 Mattiono.
For the architect David in Codogno, it has been difficult to put on the bandage and think that the pandemic is over. What happened in March 2020 has left deep scars.
– It went so fast. This is a small town, so everyone knows someone who died, says David.
– PATIENT ZERO: David knows the man who became Italy’s first registered infected. Photo: Simen Askjer / TV 2
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Struggled to breathe
Just days after Codogno shut down, David received the message he feared most of all. His father had become ill and was struggling to breathe.
– At that time we had little information about what this virus really was. We had no idea what to expect, says David.
The father was one of the very first in Italy to be hospitalized with the coronavirus.
– CHAOS: At the local hospital, there were chaotic conditions with many patients and a lot of uncertainty. Photo: Simen Askjer / TV 2
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– At first I was very relieved that he was allowed to be in the hospital, but then I understood that the doctors did not know what to do, says David.
Did not visit the hospital
For several weeks, the family was informed that the father was seriously ill but stable. No one was allowed to talk to him and it was difficult to get information from the hospital.
– I was really scared. We were not allowed to visit the hospital, so we tried to call every day. Often we did not get an answer. It was complete chaos, says David.
Only after a month and a half did David talk to his father. Then he was finally on the road to recovery and was eventually discharged from the hospital.
– He survived. We have been incredibly lucky. Many of my friends lost their parents, says David.
– CROWDED: The hospital in Codogno was quickly overcrowded and many corona patients had to be transported to other hospitals nearby. Photo: Massimo Alberico / Photogramma
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Church was used as a mortuary
After working from home during almost the entire pandemic, David is now finally back in the office, which is located in the center.
From the window by the desk he has a view of the several hundred year old church. When the number of corona victims accelerated two years ago, the church room had to be used as a morgue.
During March 2020, 156 people died, three times as many as the year before.
“We have never before lost so many inhabitants in a month, not even during World War II,” said Mayor Francesco Passerini at a commemoration of the corona victims at the end of February.
– ARCHITECT: David works as an architect and has an office in the center. Photo: Simen Askjer / TV 2
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Therefore, the infection increases
Italy is not the only country that has had a new wave of increasing infection. Also in Germany, Great Britain and France, the infection suddenly started to increase again in late February and early March.
On Wednesday, more than 580,000 new cases of infection were registered in one day in Germany. There are new infection records.
Internationally, experts point to several factors to explain that the infection is now increasing again. One factor is BA.2, a more contagious sub-variant of omicron. This variant is already dominant in Norway and is about to take over in the rest of Europe as well.
In addition, part of the explanation may lie in the fact that infection control measures have now largely been removed in the countries where the infection is increasing. This is combined with the fact that the vaccine effect may have begun to diminish.
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