As the coronavirus pandemic sweeps across the globe, more and more countries are asking their populations to make sacrifices. In Italy, which currently has the most cases of COVID-19 outside of China, this means placing the entire nation on lockdown. Italians are being asked to stay indoors and only leave the house for essential errands like purchasing groceries and medical necessities. While this might be particularly difficult for a nation known for their convivial nature, this typically social country is making the best of things even while in isolation.
Fairly quickly after Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced restrictions on travel and the closure of most commercial entities, something special started happening. Italians, used to dining with extended family and meeting friends out for a drink, started finding ways to stay connected. Calls for flash mobs began circulating online, only this time it didn't mean gathering out in the street. Instead, these quarantine flash mobs involve entire neighborhoods and villages taking to their balconies at the same time and singing together.
From traditional Italian music to international pop hits, Italians have been using music to build solidarity and stave off loneliness. These moving displays have now been shared around the world and have taken on even more importance as countries like France, Spain, and the United States begin their own restrictions. In their own, unique way, Italians are showing the world that we are together and connected, now more than ever, in this time of crisis.
Italians are making the best of the coronavirus quarantine by singing from their balconies.
Entire communities are coming together in solidarity by singing both traditional Italian and international pop songs.
Italians singing during shutdowns/quarantines.. #Italy is life ♥️ pic.twitter.com/GcLbr1QPIY
— Nour Jeanbeih (@NJeanbeih4) March 13, 2020
h/t: [Laughing Squid]
Related Articles:
How “Flattening the Curve” Saves Lives During the Spread of the Coronavirus
What the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic Can Teach Us About Coronavirus
Photographer Immortalizes Shanghai’s Empty Streets During the Coronavirus
