“All’s well that ends well”

March 31, 2022: end of the state of emergency

Covid 19 and its variants have been an unexpected shock for everyone. Everything started two years ago, in March 2020. I remember it was my last year at the primary school and we were thinking about school trips and parties with all our teachers when it was declared the state of emergency due to this terrible virus and Italy entered lockdown. Suddenly our way of living, our daily routine changed: at home alone, far from our friends, mates and relatives, spending our time on phones and social media.

School closed, online lessons, no-one in the streets, the mask, the obsession of being infected, the news on TV and on social media, the images of all those coffins in the North of Italy, the increasing number of people in intensive care units, the appeal of doctors and nurses to be careful, the Pope who blessed people alone in St Peter Square, the police who stopped cars and people who wanted just to take a walk and breath a different air, the supermarkets empty: everything seemed unreal and apocalyptic, just like in the song of the Rolling Stones “Living in a ghost town”.

Italy was no more the beautiful country we know, but a red “boot”, sometimes orange or dark orange and then again red. Restaurants, hotels, gyms, discos and other meeting places closed or had serious problems; a lot of people lost their jobs and many families had very little to eat.

In 2021 the situation improved but the physical distancing measures, the limitations on fun and recreating activities went on, so as the closure of schools. Then the happiness for the vaccine but also the fear of its side effects. But thanks to the vaccines, the situation improved and step by step we started to have less limitations. We came back to school and respecting anti-infection measures we could also go out and meet friends.

Now the fear of Covid is decreasing also because the symptoms are less violent on our health but we always have to pay attention. It is always among us.

On March 31 the state of emergency ended and we are coming back to normality. It is a little strange but fantastic. At the moment we are preparing for our school trip to Camigliatello Silano and I can’t wait to spend two days with my mates and have fun together.