flash mobs in the balconyby ammu andrewsmy family and i stay at palermo the capital of the italian island of sicily compared to north italy the spread of covid19 is not rampant here when around 11 regions of north italy were declared red zones thereby closing schools and other institutions most natives living in those areas came back to sicily thus south italy too was getting exposed to the pandemic forcing the italian prime minister to extend emergency measures against the coronavirus across the countrythe people who returned from northern italy are being home isolated though the number of cases are fewer covid19 is slowly spreading in south italy it is disheartening to see how people deserted the streets one fine morning still people are determined to overcome the difficult times whatsapp groups are active with people sharing tips to engage children and information on crafts recipes and films people have been singing out and organizing flash mobs in their balconies expressing solidarity and gratitude to health professionals home schooling options came into the scene immediately after closure of schools and educational institutionsitaly introduced lockdown to prevent unnecessary crowding or partying however freedom of movement has not been curtailed people can travel for work medical needs and purchase of essentials only one person from a family can go out people should carry a signed statement with name address phone number and purpose of travel police have the power to fine or incarcerate people if they are found without the statementthough we hear tragic news every day i cant help but mention the optimism of the people they tell that we survived world war ii this fight is against virus we will winthe writer is a student at university of palermo italybarca pays the penaltyby tinku georgewe are on the eighth day of lockdown in barcelona since we moved here two years ago we have been seeing happy spaniards rushing to cafs and bars now only empty streets closed shops sealed open places and parksemergency was declared in spain on march 14 and the central government took control of police and health service both public and private from regional governments the government has already nationalized private hospitals and clinics to manage the pandemic more than 50000 health professionals including post graduate students are hired to deal with the situation icus are almost saturated despite having the best healthcare in europe hospitals in spain are struggling to cope with the overflow of patients and need icus masks and protective equipmentcompanies having remote working options are still in operation with employees working from home schools are closed indefinitely but home schooling is going on many people are in forced holidays and some have already lost jobs you can only get around in the city to buy food medicine and essential items go to healthcare centres in case of emergency to work and to help senior citizens minors and dependent people public transport is still in operation but with onethird of frequencythe government has