A video is going round of Italians offering the coronavirus advice they wish they’d taken

‘The issue is more serious than most of the world believes’


A video was posted of a compilation of Italian people giving the advice they wish they’d heard 10 days prior when the coronavirus wasn’t as bad.

The inspiration for the video started after the announcement that America and the UK’s coronavirus statistics are 10 days behind Italy, and that this isn’t being taken seriously enough. The video is meant to encourage people around the world to listen to expert advice because the worst-case scenario is likely to happen.

In the video, each person addresses their past self and offers the advice they wish they took 10 days ago, now they know how serious it would become. Their messages include them telling themselves that “it’s all a mess” and “you’re probably underestimating it”.

One clip is of a woman wearing a mask, who says “I used to even make fun of people wearing face masks”. Another is of a woman telling her past self, “go buy a face mask, idiot”.

Multiple people explain how quickly the death toll has increased, and how this includes younger people. One woman explains, “it’s just a flu” and “we took it too lightly”.

Each person also goes into detail on their isolation – saying they can only leave the house if you have a serious reason. One man labels it “a whole nation in quarantine” – warning us of what could soon be our own situation.

The video finishes with each person reminding us not to “fuck it up”, to “stay at home” and remember “you’re not the only person in the world”. Finally, one woman encourages everyone to “relax because it will end soon”.

The video was created by A Thing By a collective of young filmmakers based in Milan who focus on the production of reality-infused projects. The video was posted to their YouTube channel two days ago and already has over four million views. It has also been shared on Twitter and Instagram.

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