https://preview.redd.it/hzsecqx9jky21.png?width=900&format=png&auto=webp&s=22393acef1870494cf0879ab29949350891f2aea
So yeah, as the titlegore says... I'm a bit curious as what the background is there. I was having a wiki-binge and checked up on some of the regions of Italy's coat of arms and many of them had these old heraldry that I know from what I've read and (admittedly played in for example Crusader Kings 2)
But then you have Lombardy.
I mean... I don't want to step on any toes here, but it does seem to have made a drastic change from the House of Visconti that I've associated before with Lombardy. And even so it sort looks entirely different from all the other regions' coat of arms by being very stylized in a way. I tried to google it but it has me convinced it was made very recently, I get a sort of minimalist/abstract feel to it.
So yeah it's a geeky question and I'm really not trying to slander Lombardians here, just wanted to know if anyone know what's the story behind the coat of arms?
- "We're close to the point of no return for intensive care beds in Lombardy. We have 15 to 20 intensive care beds left. With 85 new people entering ICU every day and 2 or 3 leaving, we're close to the point of no return. "There are no more ambulances" - Lombardy Welfare Councilor Gallera added - "and therefore someone will have to wait late in the evening."
This is fucking horrible to read. I've been anticipating this happening for weeks, it's just been a matter of time until when.
Coronavirus in Lombardy, the alarm of intensive care
"The COVID-19 epidemic that began on February 20 in the Codogno area has now extended to the entire Lombardy Region with the possibility of spreading to the whole national territory". The 'Coordination of Intensive Therapies of Lombardy' writes this in a document sent today to the President of the Lombardy Region, Attilio Fontana, who is asked to bring it to the attention of the Government and to the Commissioner for the Coronavirus emergency, Angelo Borrelli. "This is a serious event - continues the letter signed by the representatives of the intensive care units in Lombardy - which endangers the survival not only of COVID patients, but also of that part of the population who in normal conditions turns to the Health System for treatment of acute or chronic events of any nature. Healthcare facilities are subjected to a pressure that is greater than any possibility of adequate response. Despite the enormous commitment of all healthcare workers and the deployment of all available tools, correct management of the phenomenon is now impossible. "
"Outpatient activities, non-urgent surgery, hospitalizations in medicine - the document continues - have fallen to levels close to zero". "The entire network of intensive care has been restructured, creating dedicated structures in which, fully harnessed to defend against infection, we work with great effort to assist serious and very serious patients, whose life depends on technologically complex equipment available unfortunately in numbers limited. Also for this reason, the immediate adoption of drastic measures aimed at reducing social and useful contacts to contain the epidemic is absolutely necessary ". "In the absence of timely and adequate provisions from the Authorities - concludes the document - we will be forced to face an event that we can only qualify as a disastrous health calamity".
Yes this article is in Italian, but use Google's translate services. It's an interview with the Regional Co-ordinator of ICU in Lombardy.
Makes sobering reading.
As well as the extent to which one of the best healthcare systems in the world has been brought to its knees by this, the main take-away for me is the stress from this eminent medical professional on social distancing .
" I am not saying this to alarm the citizens, but to make everyone understand that it is not the time to go out, to go shopping or to go and drink the spritz, as we have been saying for days now. Social relations must be changed, with the shops and neighborhood markets closed. In Milan, where I live, at least so far there have been too many people needlessly around. You only have to go out to buy food."
I really hope we see some genuine moves from the government come Monday to limit social interactions or this is the way we're headed in a few weeks I fear.
Some data first:
Coronavirus death toll in Italy today: 250
Total death in Italy in 2019: 647000 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Italy)
that makes daily average: 1772
Population of Italy: 60M
Population of Lombardy: 10M
estimated daily death in Lombardy: 295
Ratio of deaths (Lombardy/Italy): 0.88 (https://www.thestar.com.my/news/world/2020/03/14/coronavirus-death-toll-in-italy039s-lombardy-climbs-to-890---sources)
Estimated number of Coronavirus deaths in Lombardy today: 220
That means that ~43% of today's deaths in Lombardy was due to Coronavirus.
