Virus, what virus? Italy's "nonni" step in as schools close
Nicole Winfield | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 8 months AGO
A young girl walk with her elderly grandparent along a tree lined avenue in Rome, Italy, Thursday March 5, 2020, after the Italian government closed all schools to assist in the fight against the COVID-19 virus. Some of the most vulnerable people, grandparents, have been forced to face possible virus infection as they look after young family members in playgrounds and parks in the city.(AP Photo)
A woman looks after a young girl at a play ground in Rome, Italy, Thursday March 5, 2020, after the Italian government closed all schools to assist in the fight against the COVID-19 virus. Some of the most vulnerable people, grandparents, have been forced to face possible virus infection as they look after young family members in playgrounds and parks in the city.(AP Photo)
A note advising that the Ennio Quirino Visconti school will be closed through March 15 hangs from a door, in Rome, Thursday, March 5, 2020. Italy's virus outbreak has been concentrated in the northern region of Lombardy, but fears over how the virus is spreading inside and outside the country has prompted the government to close all schools and Universities nationwide for two weeks. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
A man posts a note advising that the Ennio Quirino Visconti school will be closed through March 15, in Rome, Thursday, March 5, 2020. Italy's virus outbreak has been concentrated in the northern region of Lombardy, but fears over how the virus is spreading inside and outside the country has prompted the government to close all schools and Universities nationwide for two weeks. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte speaks during a press conference on economic measures to help facing consequences of the virus outbreak, in Rome, Thursday, March 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
A teacher gives on-line lessons via webcam at the Politecnico University in Milan, Italy, Thursday, March 5, 2020. Italy's virus outbreak has been concentrated in the northern region of Lombardy, but fears over how the virus is spreading inside and outside the country has prompted the government to close all schools and Universities nationwide for two weeks. (Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP)
A teacher gives on-line lessons via webcam at the Politecnico University in Milan, Italy, Thursday, March 5, 2020. Italy's virus outbreak has been concentrated in the northern region of Lombardy, but fears over how the virus is spreading inside and outside the country has prompted the government to close all schools and Universities nationwide for two weeks. (Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP)
Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte and Finance Minister Roberto Gualtieri are reflected on a mirror during a press conference on economic measures to help facing consequences of the virus outbreak, in Rome, Thursday, March 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte speaks during a press conference on economic measures to help facing consequences of the virus outbreak, in Rome, Thursday, March 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
A woman wearing a mask poses for photos at the bottom of the Spanish Steps, in Rome, Thursday, March 5, 2020. Italy's virus outbreak has been concentrated in the northern region of Lombardy, but fears over how the virus is spreading inside and outside the country has prompted the government to close all schools and Universities nationwide for two weeks. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
A woman wearing a face mask stands in a subway train in Milan, Italy, Thursday, March 5, 2020. Italy's virus outbreak has been concentrated in the northern region of Lombardy, but fears over how the virus is spreading inside and outside the country has prompted the government to close all schools and Universities nationwide for two weeks. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
A woman wearing a mask takes photos in front of the Spanish Steps, in Rome, Thursday, March 5, 2020. Italy's virus outbreak has been concentrated in the northern region of Lombardy, but fears over how the virus is spreading inside and outside the country has prompted the government to close all schools and Universities nationwide for two weeks. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
A souvenirs empty shop in Rome, Thursday, March 5, 2020. Italy's virus outbreak has been concentrated in the northern region of Lombardy, but fears over how the virus is spreading inside and outside the country has prompted the government to close all schools and Universities nationwide for two weeks. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
A Botticella (traditional Roman horse-driven touristic carriage) driver waits for customers in Piazza di Spagna, at the bottom of the Spanish Steps, in Rome, Thursday, March 5, 2020. Italy's virus outbreak has been concentrated in the northern region of Lombardy, but fears over how the virus is spreading inside and outside the country has prompted the government to close all schools and Universities nationwide for two weeks. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Few tourists walk along the Spanish Steps, in Rome, Thursday, March 5, 2020. Italy's virus outbreak has been concentrated in the northern region of Lombardy, but fears over how the virus is spreading inside and outside the country has prompted the government to close all schools and Universities nationwide for two weeks. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
The Spanish Steps are reflected in the window of an empty shop, in Rome, Thursday, March 5, 2020. Italy's virus outbreak has been concentrated in the northern region of Lombardy, but fears over how the virus is spreading inside and outside the country has prompted the government to close all schools and Universities nationwide for two weeks. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Few tourists gather at the Spanish Steps, in Rome, Thursday, March 5, 2020. Italy's virus outbreak has been concentrated in the northern region of Lombardy, but fears over how the virus is spreading inside and outside the country has prompted the government to close all schools and Universities nationwide for two weeks. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
A woman walks in an empty classroom at the Statale University, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, March 5, 2020. Italy's virus outbreak has been concentrated in the northern region of Lombardy, but fears over how the virus is spreading inside and outside the country has prompted the government to close all schools and Universities nationwide for two weeks. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
A cleaner walks in an empty corridor of the Statale University in Milan, Italy, Thursday, March 5, 2020. Italy's virus outbreak has been concentrated in the northern region of Lombardy, but fears over how the virus is spreading inside and outside the country has prompted the government to close all schools and Universities nationwide for two weeks. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Waiters wait for customers outside a restaurant next to the Pantheon, in Rome, Thursday, March 5, 2020. Italy closed all schools and universities and barred fans from all sporting events for the next few weeks, as governments trying to curb the spread of the coronavirus around the world resorted to increasingly sweeping measures that transformed the way people work, shop, pray and amuse themselves. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
A woman wearing a mask lights a candle at the St. Louis of the French church in Rome, Wednesday, March 4, 2020 as the church, which has three of the painter’s most celebrate works, reopened to the public after a temporary closure. A priest at the church had tested positive for the virus after he had driven to Paris. The church was due to open Wednesday after health experts decided visitors ran no risk of infection. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)
ROME (AP) — Italian grandparents — “nonni” as they are called — were pulled in two contradictory directions on Thursday — and as usual the grandchildren won out.
In a decree that took effect Thursday, the Italian government urged the elderly and infirm to stay at home and restricted visits to nursing homes and assisted living facilities to contain the spread of coronavirus among those most vulnerable to it. But Italian grandparents were out in force at the nation's playgrounds and parks, stepping in as last-minute baby-sitters after the government canceled school nationwide on Wednesday.
The government move left 8.4 million students with no place to go for the next two weeks.
Italy, the epicenter of the outbreak in Europe, has the world’s oldest population after Japan, and the elderly are particularly vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus. The 148 people who have died so far in Italy were all elderly or had other health problems.
“It’s an absolute paradox!” said Mauro Benedetti, a 73-year-old retiree who was called in to look after his grandson Thursday while his granddaughter had her horseback riding lesson. “They tell us to stay home. How can we help our kids and grandkids at the same time?"
“Grandparents are now at risk,” he declared.
Italian nonni have long been the go-to caregivers for their grandchildren, often taking the place of expensive nannies or daycare when both parents work. Many are also relatively young, given that some Italians can retire in their 50s or 60s. They often stay on to help out even when the grandchildren reach school-age, since classes often get out at 2 p.m., well before any parents can get home from work.
But the emergency school closures put families in a bind. A small sampling of Roman playgrounds indicated that the measures had the unintended boomerang effect of sending the elderly out on duty at the nation's sandboxes, swings and jungle gyms. Not to mention the fact that they were fully engaged with young children, those infamous germ carriers.
“Practically speaking, if there weren’t the grandparents, it would have been a big mess,” said a man named Roberto who took his granddaughter to the Santa Maria Liberatrice playground in Rome’s Testaccio neighborhood. “Those families where both the mother and the father work, it is really a problem.”
Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte justified the extraordinary measure of closing schools and universities nationwide until March 15 by warning that Italy might not have enough intensive care units to treat patients if the virus continues its “exponential” spread.
Already, ICU beds are in short supply in hard-hit Lombardy, which has 2,251 of Italy’s 3,858 positive patients.
Dr. Franco Locatelli, head of Italy’s national scientific council on health, said the measures adopted by the government sought to reduce contagion and protect the “fragile population” of the sick and elderly, since all studies say they are most at risk of fatal complications from the virus.
“The care of this population of patients is a fundamental objective for our country,” Locatelli told reporters Thursday.
Lorenzo Romano was among those on duty, making lunch for his grandchildren who were home from school. Despite the risks, he looked on the bright side.
“Altogether it makes me happy, because then I have them around me more,” he said.
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Follow AP coverage of the virus outbreak at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak