Diary in Rome: Chinese doctors and supplies arrive, and we are grateful

Editor's note: The decree of the Italian government putting the country under lockdown goes into effect on Tuesday, in a bid to prevent the ongoing coronavirus epidemic from spreading.

What does life look like under a lockdown? Below is the diary from Grandesso Federico, an Italian national residing in Padova, northern Italy, recording his life on the fourth day of the national lockdown.

By Grandesso Federico

PADOVA, Italy, March 13 (Xinhua) -- The news that Chinese medical experts and supplies arrived in Rome to help Italy fight the novel coronavirus made headlines last night. So I was intrigued what my friends and acquaintances think about it.

Giorgio Ronzani is a lawyer who has quite some Chinese clients. He came to my house today and said that during the emergency of increasing infections, the unavailability of masks was a big problem.

"Everywhere you can see signs indicating that the masks are finished. For this reason this cargo of masks from China can be vital in the areas with lots of patients. It was a godsend," he told me.

He said: "If we don't have the masks the contagion is going to continue. The masks together with other medical equipment and the doctors coming from China will for sure give a boost to our medical staff and hospitals."

"The Chinese ventilators will also be key to helping patients with acute symptoms to breath," he added.

The lawyer said he hopes that more help would come from other parts of the world.

Eva Dal Pozzo, a senior business consultant, agreed. This is a nice initiative that should be emulated by other countries, she said. These supplies from China are vital, expecially the devices for intubation, as many Italian hospitals don't have spaces for new patients.

Dal Pozzo explained that foreign supplies are welcome also because Italian factories are not able to produce medical devices in a short time. "I appreciate a lot this lovely gesture from China," she said.

Cinzia Pasquale, a senior consultant on European Union affairs and connectivity, told me over the phone that "the arrival in Italy of the Chinese plane loaded with medical equipment, masks and medical personnel specialized in the treatment of COVID-19 is certainly more than welcome to Italy's struggling health services."

Citing a concrete case, she said: "My family had long been looking for protective masks and everything needed to be safe. In Lombardy, where we live and which is also the epicenter of the Italian epidemic, we have not found any. Yesterday we purchased online, but delivery is only scheduled for April 9."

She added that online shopping in Italy is handicapped by inadequate delivery service due to the sanitary restrictions, so one can imagine how the load of Chinese medical material had been welcomed.

"Comparing logistics between China and Europe, I am well aware of the situation on the ground and the need to maximize the effectiveness of the last mile," Pasquale said.

My homeland recorded 250 fatalities from the pandemic today. We are really devastated.

"I would add that seeing how China has managed the outbreak in Wuhan, I am, personally very confident of the contribution that the Chinese medical staff will make to the heroic Italian doctors who have been overwhelmed by this health emergency," she said.

She spoke highly of this bilateral cooperation. "My country, Italy, should learn from China and from the sense of dedication and responsibility the Chinese have shown towards the whole world."

Just as I'm about to finish this diary, I saw a Facebook post by Michele Geraci, former Italian Undersecretary in the Ministry of Economic Development.

"We received a big help from China, now the doctors of both sides can share experiences. I hope that now that we have taken the first step in the potential cooperation, we could in this way look with urgency to the Wuhan model, adapting it also to our system," he wrote.

Let me finish by this: "Zhong guo jia you/Yi da li jia you-Grazie Cina." Enditem