News24 | The Quarantine Diaries: Recent Episodes
Media24
In this two-part special report, published in March 2020, News24 spoke to South Africans living in Italy, one of the hardest-hit countries for the coronavirus, outside of China. They described an environment of fear and deserted streets.
In the second episode of the Quarantine Diaries, News24 spoke to Titi Nxumalo, South African Consulate General Milan, to find out if there are any indications when restrictions in Italy will be lifted. The country imposed a nationwide lockdown. After China, it's the hardest-hit country, with more than 2 500 deaths from over 31 000 cases of Covid-19. Meanwhile, Marc Davis, a South African living and working in the UK, told News24 that panic buying has set in with long queues and anxious buyers clearing shelves quickly. South Africans abroad: Italy still in lockdown and panic buying hits UK
Crema, in northern Italy, is a picture-perfect scene of idyllic life - cafes along cobblestoned roads, mountain views, grand buildings rich in Italian heritage, where the young and old can be found eating ice-cream on the steps of noble cathedrals. But now it resembles a ghost town. South Africans in Italy: 'We’ve got ambulance sirens going off all the time'