Ashley Young has shared his own advice on how to stay safe during the coronavirus pandemic. The former Manchester United winger joined Inter Milan in January before COVID-19 put a halt to football across Europe.
The 34-year-old now plays for Inter Milan in the heart of Europe’s worst-affected region with more than 6,900 reported dead in Italy overall.
Corona in Italy
Italy is one of the worst affected countries in the world with 6,820 deaths and 69,176 confirmed cases. The country has been in lockdown for more than two weeks with restrictions on movement for most of the population.
Similar measures were brought in by UK PM Boris Johnson on Monday evening with people only allowed out of the house for a few specific reasons.
Ashely Young’s Advice
“Hi everyone, I just wanted to share my thoughts given I’m currently living in Italy, the epicenter of the virus.
Realistically a supermarket is now your main risk of spreading this virus and even catching it. Speaking with family and friends at home it sounds like going to get food is just crazy. Remember, lockdown means lockdown!
In Italy going to the supermarket is surprisingly calm… no fights over food, no stripped shelves and most certainly no abusing staff members for limiting food or any reason at all! And in almost every case it’s usually just one person shopping for a household!
Please read the following and share this if you haven’t already, it really is time to do your bit to help tackle this awful global crisis we are in!”
Give COVID-19 the red card
The quicker we work together to stop coronavirus spreading, the sooner we can get back into the pubs, the gyms, and stadiums and arenas to see live sport again…
STAY AT HOME. Only leave for the following purposes:
- to shop for basic essentials – only when you really need to
- to do one form of exercise a day – such as a run, walk or cycle, alone or with other people you live with
- for any medical need – for example, to visit a pharmacy or deliver essential supplies to a vulnerable person
- to travel to and from work – but only where this is absolutely necessary
The government has also issued further detail on what we can do during the lockdown. Everyone should do what they can to stop coronavirus from spreading.
Supermarkets
“Queuing to go into the supermarket is standard, but not because it’s for stockpiling or greed. Supermarkets have limited the number of people entering at any time so it’s never over-crowded! So wait and be patient to go in if your supermarket is doing this.
If you have to get in the lift only get in with 1 more person, 2 people per lift at one time. And stand on opposite sides of the lift and face the wall – don’t breathe outwards towards that stranger.
Always use gloves from the moment you get out of your car! You don’t want to touch trolleys that other hands have been on. Keep the gloves on until you are getting back in the car.
Use a face mask or scarf to keep your nose and mouth covered.”
“Always keep your distance at the till. Keep the trolley behind you when you unpack at the till as it stops people from being able to get too close.
Don’t unpack your shopping right on top of somebody else’s, make a gap between theirs and yours so none of your shopping touches theirs. Here we can’t put our groceries on the belt until the person in front has finished paying.
This may sound harsh but treat everybody that’s not in your household as if they have the virus, you just don’t know!!!
Most importantly, just stay safe! This is what we are doing here, it’s not an overreaction, it’s staying safe. And just remember others should be looking at you in this way as well. It’s not horrible, it’s a way of keeping your distance to ultimately help save lives.”
