NI teacher in lockdown in Italy urges people to stay indoors

A teacher from Londonderry who endures the continuous sound of church bells tolling for the dead in northern Italy has urged people in her native city to stay indoors.
By The Newsroom
Published 22nd Mar 2020, 17:47 BST
Local newspaper Eco di Bergamo features several pages of obituaries in its March 17, 2020 edition, in Mediglia, Italy, Wednesday, March 18, 2020Local newspaper Eco di Bergamo features several pages of obituaries in its March 17, 2020 edition, in Mediglia, Italy, Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Local newspaper Eco di Bergamo features several pages of obituaries in its March 17, 2020 edition, in Mediglia, Italy, Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Fionnuala Crabtree is in lockdown in the walled city of Bergamo, near Milan.

The Bergamo area has been hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic which has swept the country.

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Ms Crabtree said: “We sit in our apartments and listen to the continuous sound of sirens and the church bells that mark the mourning of so many loved ones in our city.

“I don’t want to ever have to correlate my experience here with the virus to that of my beautiful city of Derry so please do your bit and protect your community.”

Bergamo has a similar population to the greater Londonderry area.

Ms Crabtree said: “Bergamo hospitals can no longer cope with the number of cases.

“The army has been deployed and the crematoriums are full.”

She urged people in Derry to socially distance and follow all the public health advice.

She added: “A little sacrifice now will go a long way in protecting the town that we all love so well.”

Related topics:ItalyDerry