The government decree putting Italy under lockdown has been in place since March 10, in a bid to contain the spreading coronavirus.
Below is a first-person account from Grandesso Federico, an Italian national residing in Padova, northern Italy, telling his story of meeting with members of the Chinese medical team.
by Federico Grandesso
PADOVA, Italy, March 19 (Xinhua) -- I started my day with hope, because I will have an opportunity to interview members of the Chinese medical team sent to Italy to aid our battle against the coronavirus. It will be an occasion to explore the collaboration established between China and Italy.
My interview took place in the director-general building of the Hospital of Padova and I talked with Sun Shuopeng, leader of the Chinese medical team and Vice President of the Red Cross Society of China.
People wearing face masks are seen in Rome, Italy, on March 18, 2020. (Photo by Alberto Lingria/Xinhua)
He said that the Chinese team came here because the city is a "portal" of northern Italy, and also because the outbreak is much worse than in southern Italy. "It is important for us to know what is going on in Padova, especially the number of affected people, how the hospital operates and if there are enough medical resources," he said.
Yesterday, the team had a very long talk with relevant medical authorities in Padova. Today they came to the hospital.
Sun said: "We notice several positive things here in Padova. For one, the city is implementing a strategy similar to what we call in China as 'Four Earlies' -- early detection, early reporting, early isolation and early treatment. Another thing is that the hospital tests all medical staff for the coronavirus. In the intensive care unit, they test for the virus every two days."
"Imposing quarantine is good to reduce the traffic of people. It is important that all the stores, except for supermarkets and pharmacies, are closed," Sun said.
Chinese medical experts visit a hospital in Padova, Italy, March 17, 2020. (Photo by Qin Xiaoli/Xinhua)
The Chinese team split into three groups here, some met with epidemiologists and virologists, some visited the intensive care unit, and others had a meeting on mobilizing resources to ensure the safety of the hospital and its staff.
Asked about the challenges they noticed in my hometown, Sun said: "We saw big pressure on the hospital. Therefore it is key to avoid importing cases from other areas. It's important to keep these measures. We saw also a deficiency in medical resources, for example masks. It is also important not to squeeze medical resources of other departments of the hospital, not to put stress on the other areas."
In order to deal with the lack of hospital beds, Sun suggested two solutions. The first is to shift beds from other departments of the hospital, but this will have a negative effect on other patients. "The second option is, as we did in China, to build mobile cabin hospitals," Sun said.
A man wearing a face mask is seen in Rome, Italy, on March 18, 2020. (Photo by Alberto Lingria/Xinhua)
On Wednesday afternoon, the Chinese team is scheduled to have a meeting with regional scientific committee and regional epidemiological experts.
Sun said: "First we want to bring here successful experience and measures in China, like mobile hospitals. It is important for the government to keep the isolation measures. It is also important to work with media in order to advocate the health regulation because it is the duty of every citizen to do something in the battle."
I learnt that tomorrow the Chinese team will meet the infectious disease department of the hospital, and some team members will go to Pavia while others to Milan, capital of the hardest-hit region of Lombardy.
In order to better understand this bilateral cooperation, I also spoke with Giampiero Rupolo, President of the Italian Red Cross Padova Committee.
A subway station is seen in Rome, Italy, on March 18, 2020. (Photo by Alberto Lingria/Xinhua)
Rupolo said that for the Chinese team, it was of significance to be in Padova, as the main hospital in the region is here. Also, this is the main regional medical hub for the therapies on coronavirus patients.
"We had very strong and interesting discussions not only about the virus, the infections and the epidemiological aspects but also about the intensive care treatments and the therapy on patients," he said.
Explaining the meaning of the Chinese mission to Italy, Rupolo said the Chinese practice is an "important contribution to the knowledge in the way to fight this infection, for example lockdown of the population, to avoid contacts and to protect doctor and nurses."
He added "one interesting element they brought from China is a serum with antibody of the people who already recovered from the virus."
Rupolo also told me that the Chinese team's visit to Italy is not only important from the scientific side, but also from the human point of view: to be allied against this major illness is to be allied against a major enemy of the mankind.
Pre-triage tents set up outside a hospital in Padova, Italy. (Photo by Ji Jin/Xinhua)■
