It’s no secret Italy has been hit hardest by the coronavirus.
As of Sunday, Italy leads the world in mortalities due to the virus. Italy’s COVID-19 death toll surpassed 10,000 on Saturday and there were 92,500 confirmed cases.
Edoardo Molinari and his family are among the Italians sheltering indoors during the pandemic. The European Tour pro described his experience over the past few weeks on the European Tour’s Player Blog.
Molinari last played at the Qatar Open, in which he missed the cut and flew back to Italy. Molinari wrote in a blog post that nearly a month ago the battle with the invisible enemy seemed to be under control in Italy.
That notion changed quickly. On March 9, Italians were ordered to shelter in place.
“Then all of a sudden that Monday night our Prime Minister was saying we need to do more and he was going to lockdown everything apart from offices and factories,” Molinari wrote in his blog. “Two days later you could only go out one time a week to the supermarket, and now they have shut down factories or businesses that are not involved directly with the food chain, or things we need to survive.”
Molinari, who lives on the outskirts of Turin in Northern Italy, wrote that he considers himself lucky he can stay home and doesn’t need to worry about his job. However, the virus still sits atop his thoughts.
So much so that he insists he’s rarely thinking about golf.
“I have a room in the house where I have a very small gym and a little putting green indoors,” Molinari wrote. “I spend an hour every day in the gym and half an hour putting but at the minute golf is not a priority. The most important thing right now is to make sure we all behave in a way that can help this situation get under control.”
Molinari said his family is fortunate because they live near a garden where they can spend time outside. But the decreased contact from those he loves is taking a toll. He said he speaks with his parents by phone or video every day and frequently with his brother, Francesco, in London.
“Even if we could visit, we wouldn’t, because it’s just too dangerous to go around so we just try and avoid contact with people as much as possible,” Edoardo wrote. “Luckily, we can use technology to communicate.”
Edoardo is also fortunate that he hasn’t contracted the virus.
In late February, Edoardo was one of two European Tour players temporarily quarantined and forced to withdraw from the Oman Open after fears his roommate and fellow Italian Lorenzo Gagli had the coronavirus. Gagli had exhibited flu-like symptoms.
But Gagli eventually tested negative for coronavirus and both golfers were cleared to play in the event, the second-to-last full event to be played on the European Tour before mass cancelations and postponements began around the sports world.
While there is fear, uncertainty and chaos, Edoardo wrote he was proud of how most Italians are reacting and encouraged others to be positive, careful and patient.
“If I said anything to you, it would be stay at home,” Edoardo wrote. “Please don’t think you are immune to this virus or that you won’t catch it. It’s better to be careful, to make a mistake on the safe side if anything, and just be patient and be positive.”
Edoardo’s full blog post can be read on the European Tour’s website.