To those wondering why I didn’t delete my Italy vacation tweets despite lots of hate, I kept them up to serve as a reminder of how quickly things can change in regards to #coronavirus. The situation in Italy is dire and frightening today. 1/
.@kumailn asked if it would be ok to post my Italy tweets to his wide following even though they likely would be made misinterpreted, made fun of, and cursed at. People need to see how fast this virus can change society, so I said yes. 2/
Just a few weeks ago, the overall mood in Italy was cautionary optimism. Most people we spoke to in Rome and Florence (where we visited) suggested the media had overhyped the situation and it would be under control soon. 3/
I wanted to convey the general mindset and show how people in Rome and Florence were mostly carrying on with life as usual. Now, the entire country is on lockdown and #coronavirus deaths have topped 1,800 in Italy, with more to come. 4/
My Italy tweets are a cautionary tale of what it looks like when a society doesn’t treat #COVID19 like the threat it is. The world needs to wake up to the reality that we basically need to close nearly everything in affected countries to slow this down. 5/
The U.S., as of now, is not ready for what’s coming in a matter of weeks. We need to learn the lessons of Italy and treat this with seriousness. 6/
In the U.S., we have seen many stories where just this past weekend people were partying in large groups and not trying to social distance. For example, this club in Nashville was the opposite of what we need to be doing now 7/
I sincerely hope the U.S. can change its mindset quickly enough to stop the spread of #coronavirus and not lead us down the path of #coronapocolypse. The biggest lesson: #StayHome if you want to save lives 8/ usatoday.com/story/opinion/…
