Church bells ring, birds sing, and Lake Garda’s clear water lies still.
The picturesque lake is usually a hub for boats, and windsurfers can be seen throughout the year. But life on the lake has been paused by the coronavirus outbreak.
In the Italian village of Tignale, sounds of nature have replaced the noise of traffic and an empty, plane-free blue sky overlooks the uncharacteristically vacant Lake Garda.
The World has grinded to a halt.
Tignale, a small comune in the region of Lombardy, has been on lockdown since March 8. Gilli Lewin, who lives in Tignale, explained: “We are not allowed out of our village and to help us stay at home my husband’s newspaper is delivered every morning.
“Once a week I make a shopping list for the local supermarket and that is delivered too. We have a fantastic group of volunteers.
“The highlight of the week is taking the rubbish out and going to the village to pay the paper bill every Friday.”
In Tignale, residents have to stay within 200 metres of their houses and wear a facemask or a scarf when they go outside.
With 18,849 Covid-19 deaths, Italy had the most fatalities in the World until Saturday, when the U.S. surpassed that figure. The devastating outbreak peaked in Italy at the end of March and daily infections and deaths have since declined, but 619 deaths were still reported on Saturday.
Gilli counts herself as lucky. She says she lives in a beautiful place with an even more beautiful view.
In Madrid, Spain, it’s a stark contrast. The sense of emptiness is the same, but a pretty view? Pablo Conde Rodriguez is desperate for even a garden to look out at.
Living in a Madrid flat, Pablo, 19, says not being able to go outside is making life tiring.
“I can’t go to university, so I’m being taught by online classes. I cannot see my friends or family and can only go outside for shopping or caring for an elderly person.
“I feel like I can do nothing and that makes me feel bad. I’m very worried”, Pablo said.
On Saturday, Spain reported its lowest number of deaths for 19 days, having been one of the worst hit countries in Europe. With 510 fatalities, the daily figure is still grim reading and Pablo knows only too well what effect this is having on Spanish hospitals.
His aunt works in Gregorio Marañón Hospital in Ibiza and caught Covid-19. Luckily, she defeated it and is going back to work where Pablo said she’s much needed: “There are too many people and hospitals have collapsed. In Spain, people are always angry with the government, but the general opinion is that it has been very badly managed.
“In my personal opinion it has been badly managed, but on the other hand, nobody expected this to be so serious so it’s not only the government’s fault”, said Pablo.
With daily cases and deaths seemingly on a slow decline in Spain and Italy, Pablo and Gilli will be hoping life will return to normality soon.
Boats will return to Lake Garda and people will walk the streets of Madrid again, but life won’t be the same for some time.
The impact of Covid-19 will be felt for years to come.
Aaron Mayhew - Journalist 
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