Southern Italy lets its guard down due to the smaller impact on the population. The return of tourism could change the situation.
Garibaldi Square, in Naples began to regain its usual hustle and bustle.
The criminals are looking for their victims, traffic jams have returned to Avenida Umberto I and the stalls in the Forcella neighborhood ship out fruit and vegetables as if everything that happened in the last four months had been just a big nightmare.
Tourism has not yet returned to one of the most explored cities in the last decade by low-cost airlines.
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ANALYZE MY CASEBut Naples, like so many cities in southern Italy, quickly left behind the fear of covid-19.
Maybe even too fast, experts warn. Mask use has dropped precipitously, and distancing measures are starting to look like old protocol.
The latest survey by the company SWG concludes that citizens “very concerned about the virus” rose from 57% to 18%.
The situation in Italy, four months after the first contagion in Lombardy (north), remains under control.
The numbers progressively improve
This Friday (26) 30 deaths were recorded, which reached 34.708, and 259 new infections were recorded (156 in Lombardy alone), for a total of 239.961 (Lombardy has 93.587 cases).
But there are indicators, such as fines for organizing parties, the return to shops (online shopping fell from 49% on May 11th to 34% on June 12th) and the drop in mask sales (by half compared to the worst days of the pandemic, says the pharmacy sector entity) which alerts health authorities.
The party went on
The photograph of Naples, where a week ago 5 people gathered to celebrate the conquest of Coppa Italia by the local team, shows evident relaxation.
In Ciro Buonerba's bar, on the corner of the central station, no one is wearing a mask. “What do you want me to tell you? Here we had few infections. Our danger of death now is the drop in tourism, not the virus”, observes the waiter who works at the crowded counter.
The same happens in many hotels and businesses. The good behavior of the south during the pandemic contributed to this climate relaxation.
The contagion and death figures speak of two countries within Italy.
In the north, mortality doubled during the pandemic, with wild spikes exceeding 560% in places like Bergamo, epicenter of the tragedy.
In the southern regions, on the other hand, mortality did not rise excessively and, in some places, such as Rome in March, it was even lower than in 2019.
The statistics here speak of a wound that heals quickly. Also a short memory.
Excessive relaxation
Walter Ricciardi, Government advisor during the pandemic and former president of the Italian Institute of Health, believes there is “excessive relaxation”.
“It is clear that attention to behavioral measures has fallen. And yes, there will certainly be some outbreaks, not in that virulent way because we are prepared to intervene. The problem is making people understand that the risk is general. The virus circulates throughout the world and causes very serious damage. It's a global problem, no part of the world is immune. In places where its impact was zero, it could explode now.”
Law 74/2025 is being challenged in the Court of Justice of the European Union. For thousands of descendants, the next step depends on understanding how the new rule has affected each case.
Your case may still have a legal outcome.
ANALYZE MY CASEIn recent weeks, attention has turned to places where outbreaks have been recorded. On Tuesday, three neighborhoods were contaminated in the town of Palmi (Calabria) when an excessively high number of infections were detected concentrated in a small neighborhood nucleus.
In Rome, two significant outbreaks were also located just two weeks ago. "Covid-19 is still circulating among us; we must not lower our level of vigilance. The gatherings and parties these days are a slap in the face to the doctors and families of the more than 34 victims," commented the Minister for Regional Affairs, Francesco Boccia.
Reopening of borders
The opening of borders since June 3 could also alter the north-south balance, authorities fear.
Much of the scarce international tourism that Italy will receive in the summer will choose to visit southern areas that have until now remained relatively isolated.
And 93% of movements will be domestic, according to the sector entity, movements that will occur mainly from north to south, in search of beaches.
“The Lombards are the ones who should undergo controls”, says Gianni Zaccaria, at a vegetable stand in Forcella.
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