Hope shines through

AMID THE GLOOM, STORIES OF HUMANITY, HOPE AND EVEN HUMOUR EMERGE AROUND THE WORLD

The streets of Italy are usually filled with colour and music, but the national lockdown to contain the rapidly spreading COVID-19 virus has left the vibrant country like an eerie ghost town. But amid the panic and grim updates on the pandemic, residents in quarantine are making an effort to keep up their spirits by singing, playing music and dancing from their balconies to prove that social isolation doesn’t have to be lonely.

One resident in Siena, Tuscany, seemingly started the feel-good trend on social media, tweeting a video of people singing the popular folk song ‘Il Canto della Verbena’ from their apartment windows.

“People of my hometown #Siena sing a popular song from their houses along an empty street to warm their hearts during the Italian #Covid_19 #lockdown,” the resident wrote next to the video.

As nearly 16 million people remain confined in their homes, and shops and restaurants stay closed, some are finding ways to spread the positivity, with similar videos of residents playing instruments and even doing the macarena going viral from shutdown cities such as Florence, Naples and Turin.