The person that I interviewed is an Italian who lives in Cascais. The spread of the virus has greatly affected him. Usually during summer vacation, he and his family travel back to Italy. Unfortunately, he couldn’t leave Portugal this year due to the virus. Additionally, Italy was the first country in Europe that experienced an outbreak of the virus. I thought it would be interesting to interview him about how this virus has impacted him emotionally as well as in his daily life.

It was not a surprise when I heard about the outbreak of the virus in Italy, I myself was expecting that the virus was going to arrive in other parts of the world. People are constantly traveling from one place to another, and considering the time, there is still a high risk for other countries. When the coronavirus first appeared, it was very strong and even the specialists didn’t know what it was, since in the first two months there were a large amount of new cases. People had to stay in the hospital for the cure. Every day the cases were increasing. It was a very hard time for Italy, but it was a good challenge for the specialist and the hospitals. Many places had to be closed down; it was a disaster for the economy.

I wasn’t surprised either when the virus came to Portugal, because I knew that it would eventually come to other parts of the world like I said before. However, I still made sure to take precautions and do the best I could to follow the government’s guidelines, and I encourage everyone to do so in order to combat the spread of the virus.

At the beginning, I contacted my relatives and acquaintances much more because I had to know what was going on, I had to know if anybody got the virus or not. But now, we don’t contact as much as before because I am fairly confident that they will all be fine. Also, we can all follow the news on the TV, so I am always able to have an idea of what is going on. It is easy to follow what is on the internet as well. Many of my family’s businesses also had to close down, but I believe that after a few months it will be better.

The virus changed the lives of everybody. It affects students because they can’t go to school, and it also affects my daughter and my son for the same reason. Also, if you go outside, you have to wear a mask, which is something you are not used to. All the shops are closed too. Even if you can go out a little now, there are still some places which you cannot go to. You always have to be careful, otherwise you are likely to get infected by the virus. The current situation is much better than two months ago, but our lives have still not gone back to normal.

I think the healthcare workers did their job; their job is to help people. They are in a very difficult situation right now because there are a lot of cases. However, many people are saying that they are heroes, but this is their job!!! Of course, a lot of people are getting sick, and they are having a hard time, but it is their job to cure people. I would say that they are doing a very good job though, and their work ethic is impressive.

Italy was the first country that was influenced by this virus. After the outbreak, Mr. Piero was very worried about his family. His daily life was greatly affected by the coronavirus. However, he is used to the changes to his life now, but he still hopes to go back to normal as soon as possible. I hope that everything will go well with his life and his family.