How an Italian island dodged an expected onslaught from the coronavirus
- In spite of various people with Covid-19 stopping by the Giglio Island, not one of the islanders developed infection
- Paola Muti, an epidemiology professor, decided to do a study to find out why
Paola Muti braced for a rapid spread of the coronavirus to the 800 closely-knit islanders, many of whom she knows well. Her mother was born on Giglio Island and she often stays at the family home with its charming view of the sea through the parlour’s windows.
But days passed and none of Giglio’s islanders developed any Covid-19 symptoms even though the conditions seemed favourable for the disease to spread like wildfire.
The Gigliesi, as the residents are known, socialise in the steep alleys near the port or on the granite steps that serve as narrow streets in the hilltop Castle neighbourhood, with densely packed homes built against the remnants of a fortress erected centuries ago to protect against pirates.
Dr Armando Schiaffino, the island’s sole doctor for around 40 years, shared Muti’s worry that there would be a local outbreak.
“Every time an ordinary childhood illness, like scarlet fever, measles or chickenpox strikes, within a very few days practically all get” infected on Giglio, he said.