“It’s Lockdown Again” — LIVE From Bolzano, Italy

“It’s Lockdown Again” — LIVE From Bolzano, Italy

Connecticut native Rebecca Couto da Silva joined GoLocal LIVE from Bolzano, Italy, as the country’s seven-day average of new cases has been trending up from 11,716 on February 18 to 16,574 on February 28.

“We’ve got additional regulations here that are going to be extended,” said da Silva. “It’ll be four or five weeks of this. Nothing’s open really — just grocery and essentials. Places have to have sections covered. So generally if you think of Walmart, clothes have to be covered, because H&M’s not allowed to be open.”

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“It’s awful — you can’t do anything,” she added of living with her school-aged daughter. “We’re both inside, but at least the snow is melting — although last March we got a huge snowfall that lasted for a week. It’s lockdown again. If you go outside your home, it has to be for work or to the doctor or get groceries.”

Grappling With Vaccination

“I’m actually prioritized but I don’t think I should be. Over 80s are prioritized, and educators — and PhD students are considered educators,” said da Silva, who mentioned she’ll begin her PhD studies without setting foot in a classroom. 

“I don’t need it. I’ve got another month of natural immunity, and up to seven months if you read other studies,” said da Silva, who had the coronavirus in December. “I decided to do it, because as a friend told me, being on schedule is important — educators will get a booster next February or March, and if they start requiring vaccines for travel, I’ve got summer school programs coming up in other countries.”

“It is possible they’ll tell me to wait 90 days,” added da Silva, of not knowing for certain if she will even get it when she shows up to her appointment this week.