Editor's note: Italy has been in a nationwide lockdown for nearly a month to contain the novel coronavirus pandemic. Eric J. Lyman, a freelance journalist and frequent contributor to Xinhua, observes a worrying trend as the warm, sunny weather beckons.
by Eric J. Lyman
ROME, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Nearly a month into Italy's national coronavirus lockdown, rules requiring the country's 60 million residents to stay home appear to be wearing thin for a small but growing number of people.
Italian authorities do not gather detailed formal statistics on the percentage of Italians who obey the rules of the March 9 quarantine aimed at halting the spread of the virus, which has so far claimed more than 16,000 lives in Italy.
But the evidence seems to indicate compliance is eroding. Speaking informally, police in Rome's Piazza Navona, told me on Monday the amount of time they spend telling people to go back inside is steadily increasing.
A woman jogging nearby said the challenge of staying inside grew harder each day. A few others walking their dogs or watching accompanying their children waved off my questions.
"After a while, it becomes easier for people to rationalize making a bad decision," Anna Maria Giannini, a counselor for the chapter of the Order of Psychologists based in Rome, said to me.
"It's the same kind of decision-making that allows someone to send a text message while driving their car. They know it's wrong, but they tell themselves 'Just this once...' Then it becomes a habit."
The terms of the national lockdown announced March 9 require residents to stay inside with very limited exceptions, such as "essential" work, medical visits, or food shopping.
But Giannini said the temptation to ignore the rules get stronger as the weather gets better.
"At first, everyone was enthusiastic about following the decree, and there was a novelty to staying inside and catching up on reading and cooking their own meals," she said. "Now, after almost a month, it is getting old for many people, and a beautiful sunny day can prove too much to resist."
That temptation is catching the attention of Italy's leadership. On Monday, Italy's Ministry of the Interior revealed that police had checked more than 5 million people to make sure they had valid reasons to be out of their homes between March 11 and Sunday.
On Sunday alone, the ministry revealed that it issued more than 11,000 fines to people who should not have been outside -- by far the highest total since the start of the lockdown.
The developments come as the outbreak in Italy is showing signs of slowing. Since reaching a one-day high for coronavirus-related deaths on March 27, the number has begun to decline.
New infections and hospital stays are trending downward as well, authorities said. But those trends could be reversed if the virus begins to spread again via people leaving their homes.
On Friday, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte called on Italians to continue to obey the lockdown rules and "have faith" that their sacrifices will yield results.
Angelo Borrelli, Italy's Civil Protection head, on Sunday said that while the latest trends were positive, "We cannot afford to let our guard down."
Giannini echoed that point: "The biggest challenge for public officials is to convince people to remain diligent when nobody has any idea how much longer all this will last."
But Elena Cartotto, a writer who co-authored on Italian behavior under extreme conditions, said reports of people leaving their homes when they should not be maybe over-blown.
"The number of rule-breakers is still very small," Cartotto said. "The stereotype is that Italians have a hard time being following the rules. But even I am surprised how well people are obeying the terms of the quarantine."
