Lockdown: Bad news keeps spirits low in Italy's red zone

Life inside a red zone: Two-year-old Bianca Toniolo holds hands with her great-grandfather, Gino Verani, 87, as they watch news on television about the coronavirus outbreak at home in San Fiorano, one of the towns on lockdown in northern Italy. The family was concerned about Bianca as she looked as though she may be getting a temperature, but after testing the reading multiple times with several different thermometers, no temperature was recorded. This picture was taken by Bianca's father, schoolteacher Marzio Toniolo, March 4, 2020. Marzio Toniolo/via REUTERS

After almost two weeks shut off from the outside world, the mood is as overcast as the weather and the strain is starting to be felt, says Marzio Toniolo, a primary school teacher in quarantine in northern Italy because of the coronavirus outbreak.

"I feel a little melancholy because the news coming from neighboring towns is not comforting," says Toniolo, who sends Reuters daily videos from his home in the Lombardy red zone -- one of a cluster of 10 towns in lockdown.

"Many people died, the age or the fact that they were old doesn't matter, nothing changes. They just died. So there is a bit of sadness, maybe also because of the gloomy day, there is no sun and the sky is overcast."

Life inside a red zone: Ines Prandini, 85, watches news on the television of the latest developments of Italy's coronavirus crisis, while her husband Gino Verani, 87, looks on, at home in San Fiorano, one of the towns on lockdown in northern Italy, in this picture taken by their grandson, schoolteacher Marzio Toniolo, March 4, 2020. Marzio Toniolo/via REUTERS

The contagion in Italy came to light just two weeks ago and has hit the country hard, with 148 deaths and 3,858 cases recorded nationwide, according to latest data. Some 98 of the deaths were registered in Lombardy alone.

Looking to slow the spread of the virus, the government on Wednesday ordered all schools and universities across the country to close until at least March 15, banned all public gatherings and told cinemas and theaters they had to close.

For those already in the red zone nothing changed, but Toniolo said he feared the quarantine in his area would not be lifted this weekend, as many had hoped and expected.

Life inside a red zone: Two-year-old Bianca Toniolo is held by her mother Chiara Zuddas, 31, while they watch news about the coronavirus on television at home in San Fiorano, one of the towns on lockdown in northern Italy due to a coronavirus outbreak. The family was concerned about Bianca as she looked as though she may be getting a temperature, but after testing the reading multiple times with several different thermometers, no temperature was recorded. This picture was taken by Bianca's father, Marzio Toniolo, March 4, 2020. Marzio Toniolo/via REUTERS

"I fear the closure of red zones will be extended by at least a week, but it is not certain," said Toniolo, adding he was thinking of ways of getting his pupils back together.

"I thought about teaching them in the open-air, maybe in a meadow or in a field," he said. "We could do some exercises without going ahead with the teaching program ... we can revise previous lessons and do activities."

Life inside a red zone: Two-year-old Bianca Toniolo plays with a piece of material to distract her from being in quarantine at home in San Fiorano, one of the towns on lockdown in northern Italy due to a coronavirus outbreak. The family was concerned about Bianca as she looked as though she may be getting a temperature, but after testing the reading multiple times with several different thermometers, no temperature was recorded. This picture was taken by her father, schoolteacher Marzio Toniolo, March 3, 2020. Marzio Toniolo/via REUTERS

(Writing by Eleanor Biles; Editing by Crispian Balmer and Frances Kerry)

Life inside a red zone: On the fourteenth day of quarantine, Ines Prandini, 85, restarted an old alarm clock she's had for 30 years to "give some sound to this time, to give some life to this time" at home in San Fiorano, one of the towns on lockdown in Italy due to a coronavirus outbreak, in this picture taken by her grandson, schoolteacher Marzio Toniolo, March 5, 2020. Marzio Toniolo/via REUTERS

Life inside a red zone: Chiara Zuddas, 31, makes toys out of string for her two-year-old daughter Bianca Toniolo to distract her from being in quarantine at home in San Fiorano, one of the towns on lockdown in northern Italy due to a coronavirus outbreak. Bianca turned the piece of string into a 'veil for fairies'. This picture was taken by her husband Marzio Toniolo, March 3, 2020. Marzio Toniolo/via REUTERS

Life inside a red zone: A group of young people play in a park in San Fiorano, one of the towns on lockdown in northern Italy due to a coronavirus outbreak, in this picture taken by his schoolteacher Marzio Toniolo, March 3, 2020. Marzio Toniolo/via REUTERS

Life inside a red zone: Enrico, a dental hygienist, has been supplying other dentists - usually his competition - with masks, in San Fiorano, one of the towns on lockdown in northern Italy due to a coronavirus outbreak, in this picture taken by schoolteacher Marzio Toniolo, March 3, 2020. Marzio Toniolo/via REUTERS

Life inside a red zone: A line of cars wait to be checked at the border between the lockdown towns of San Fiorano and Santo Stefano, in this picture taken in northern Italy by schoolteacher Marzio Toniolo, March 3, 2020. Marzio Toniolo/via REUTERS

Life inside a red zone: Silvia wears a protective mask as she waits for customers in a tobaconnist in San Fiorano, one of the towns on lockdown in northern Italy due to a coronavirus outbreak. To ease tensions, she plays a game with customers also wearing protective masks - guessing who is hiding behind them. This picture was taken by schoolteacher Marzio Toniolo, March 3, 2020. Marzio Toniolo/via REUTERS

Life inside a red zone: Gino Verani, 87, eats biscuits at home in San Fiorano, one of the towns on lockdown in northern Italy due to a coronavirus outbreak, in this picture taken by his grandson, schoolteacher Marzio Toniolo, March 3, 2020. Marzio Toniolo/via REUTERS

Life inside a red zone: Artist DEM has been creating black masks that represent 'man's fear of the unknown' since before Italy's coronavirus crisis. DEM is based in Codogno, one of the towns on lockdown in northern Italy, and since the outbreak his creations have taken on a darker meaning. The picture was taken by DEM's friend, 35-year-old schoolteacher Marzio Toniolo, in Codogno, March 4, 2020. Marzio Toniolo/via REUTERS

Life inside a red zone: 35-year-old schoolteacher Marzio Toniolo was given a jar of propolis, a liquid known for being beneficial to the immune system, by his friend, an artist known as DEM, in Codogno, one of the towns on lockdown in Italy due to a coronavirus outbreak, in this picture taken by Marzio, March 4, 2020. Marzio Toniolo/via REUTERS