An Italian doctor boosted morale in a coronavirus-hit hospital by ending his shift with an impromptu piano performance.
Christian Mongiard went to buy a sandwich in northern Italy’s Circolo di Varese hospital on Saturday when he spotted the instrument in one of the waiting rooms.
The medic, who has been volunteering in the clinic’s high-intensity medicine unit, sat down at the stool while still wearing his protective mask and scrubs.
He then performed an energetic rendition of Queen’s ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ to the delight of his scant audience.
A recording of the recital has now been shared thousands of times on social media after one onlooker captured it on camera.
“This excellent doctor could not have chosen a better song,” said Dr Gianni Bonelli, the general manager of the hospital.
“It may seem like nothing, but it is everything. It is the spirit you need, the tension that is released, the encouragement you need.
“It is a gesture that expresses all the passion that animates it and that is shared by our operators: they are doing extraordinary things for the sole purpose of saving lives and returning patients to their families, often far away.
“Not an emotion, mind you: that passes, it is ephemeral. The passion of ours is a constant vibration that is expressed every day, and in these difficult days more than ever.”
Italy has overtaken China as the country worst hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, accounting for a third of the world’s confirmed deaths.
Its death toll now stands at 11,591 after a rise of 812 on Monday.
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