Bergamo, Italy newspaper obits - one month ago compared to today

[Dennis Donovan]

Link to tweet

Ben Phillips @benphillips76

Graphs are useful but to really get what that rising curve is, have a look at the obituaries page of this
Bergamo daily newspaper, comparing one from February with one from now

Embedded video

11:46 AM - Mar 14, 2020

Jesus Christ.

[rzemanfl]

1. ...on a crutch. This is what Drumpf will bring upon us.

K&R. n/t

[smirkymonkey]

2. K&R

Very impactful. And very sad.

[tblue37]

3. Now this choked me up. All those people forever lost represent so much grief. nt

[Lars39]

5. Most sobering...really hits home.

Especially when you realize their loved ones probably couldn’t have the traditional funeral for them.

[CanonRay]

4. Sweet Jesus...

that says it all.

[edhopper]

6. staggering

[gristy]

7. Holy crap

[bucolic_frolic]

8. The whole world is in for it

This could be a rolling pandemic with multiples waves that lasts many months.

I sure hope not, but everyone should give some thought to it, and see where it's going as time rolls along.

Some families will have multiple patients. Time to keep extended families in the loop too.

[Sloumeau]

9. Wow...just...wow. nt

[iluvtennis]

10. This whole thing is so sad. Praying this virus is under control soon. nt

[Dem2theMax]

11. Weeping.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

20. hymn ...

[Dem2theMax]

22. That was beautiful.

Love Phoebe Snow. It made me weep again. I closed my eyes to listen to it, and the image of the pages being turned and turned and turned kept playing in my mind.

All of these people were going about their lives, never knowing there was a monster lurking out there.

I think this video of the obituaries has impacted me more than anything else. It made it personal. To see all those names and faces. I don't know any of them, but I weep for them.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

23. The song soothed me after the shock of those pages.

We're headed for 1918 with morons at the federal level. We have to take care of each other without getting too close.

[Dem2theMax]

24. I'm so glad you posted it.

For some reason, looking at those pages made me think of 9-11, and how the whole world came together to help us.

If not for that horrid person sitting in our White House, we would be fighting this as a global community. And that's the way it should be. I hope that somehow, the saner heads in this country will win out, and we will fight this together. I don't want to see anyone lose their loved ones.

[Chainfire]

12. Yikes

That is it.

[paleotn]

13. A very small taste....

of what our ancestors experienced in the late 1340's. The Black Death.

[gollygee]

14. Oh wow

That made me tear up. Those are people's loved ones.

[HarlanPepper]

15. And not all of them were old people either.

You could tell from the pics.

[Butterflylady]

16. Unbelievable!!!!!!!!

[DemoTex]

17. I think of Vivaldi's Requiem, which I first heard in Venice years ago.

And I think of Bach's Actus Tragicus and Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings. All three extremely sad works, for me. Especially Actus Tragicus

[GopherGal]

18. Sobering

By about page 6 or so, I was just thinking "please stop, please stop" hoping that was the end.

Anyone speak enough Italian to known what he says at the end about influenza?

[crickets]

21. I had a very similar reaction. It was shocking and so sad as the pages kept going by. nt

[mnhtnbb]

19. That hits home, doesn't it? Makes it real.