Deeply saddening scenes have emerged from Italy, which has been placed on coronavirus lockdown, as shoppers queue far into a main road in order to get essential supplies.
In a tweet simply captioned “apocalyptic,” mask-wearing shoppers form an orderly, slow-moving queue.
Some lines to get groceries have been reported to be hundreds of yards long as the Mediterranean country comes to a standstill.
Outlets which do not supply essential goods have been closed down. Fears of bankruptcy and poverty in heavily quarantined countries have emerged.
https://twitter.com/DVATW/status/1238945666820341766
Despite the disheartening clip, tweeters still managed to find humor in an otherwise dismal situation.
One Twitter user commented, “Is this the queue for the loo roll isle or pasta?”
“Can’t be London, no-one is stabbing each other,” another joked.
Although gloomy images have been leaked to social media, several videos circulating Twitter have shown Italians singing the national anthem from their balconies every morning to keep spirits alive.
Confirming the footage as being taken in Italy, one Twitter user wrote: “We cannot leave house except for grocery shopping or for health reasons. But then, let’s try to keep the spirit up. All together singing Italian Anthem.”
Yes, it is. We cannot leave house except for grocery shopping or for health reasons. But then, let's try to keep the spirit up. All together singing Italian Anthem. #italystaystrong pic.twitter.com/oRjLrsCD3E
— Italian archer (@rikycaso) March 14, 2020
The emergency-level footage from Italy and the US has become the center of a political debate around economic systems.
Many self-described socialists have capitalized on the rising demand for essential goods, and outlets’ inability to cater for the recent demand shocks as an inherently failure of the capitalist system.
According to Worldometers, Italy has had 21,157 cases of the coronavirus with 1,441 deaths, and 1,966 recovered.