The streets are quiet in Pamplona, Spain, beneath the apartment of Michelle Lorusso. COVID-19 is an increasing concern in the northern Spain city of 250,000 near the France border. (Michelle Lorusso)

By Ian Holmes

COVID-19 warning

Former Nanaimo resident in Spain makes impassioned COVID-19 plea to Canadians

Mar 26, 2020 | 5:47 AM

NANAIMO — When COVID-19 cases started regularly showing up in Europe in early February, Michelle Lorusso wasn’t overly concerned.

The former Nanaimo resident, now in her fifth year living in Spain, said she didn’t think her life would be impacted while reading alarming reports of the rapidly rising COVID-19 infection rates.

A month after the virus invaded Spain, there are nearly 50,000 confirmed cases and 4,000 deaths tied to the coronavirus. Roughly 500 people die a day in what’s now one of the hardest hit countries in the world.

Spain is on total lockdown.

Lorusso turned to Facebook recently to vent in disbelief after seeing pictures of people on Canada’s west coast playing soccer, or groups of people hanging out at the beach last weekend.

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“Every country you can see how serious it can get quickly. Knowing that people in Canada see that and do see the news, I just didn’t understand why this was happening,” Lorusso told NanaimoNewsNOW from Pamplona, Spain.

A day after the Spanish government shut down restaurants, bars and schools earlier this month, Lorusso spent time outside where she said social distancing was not a priority.

“It happened so quickly and it was just a stupid mentality that I had, it can’t happen everywhere and that’s scary.”

She said police are fining people who don’t have a good reason for not being at home.

Lorusso, a second grade teacher who transitioned her class to online learning, said their new reality of staying home indefinitely is setting in.

“Everyone has that same mentality of ‘this is a good thing that’s happening.’ Everyone is staying in their house, everyone is on lockdown and nobody is going anywhere.”

While the situation is dire in portions of Europe and trending that way in the United States, Canada’s COVID-19 outlook is more favourable.

Roughly 3,300 cases are confirmed in Canada, including 30 deaths. Fourteen of the fatalities are reported in British Columbia.

Nanaimo MLA Sheila Malcolmson told NanaimoNewsNOW people not complying with public health directives tops the list of concerns voiced to her constituency office.

Malcolmson said people are worried others are not self-isolating for 14 days after returning from international travel.

She believed most people are taking COVID-19 safety precautions seriously, but said locking down the province is a tool at the provincial health officer’s disposal.

“If people don’t do it voluntarily then we will have to get tougher and we have the enforcement officials to do that. We hope we do not have to take that step.”

During a March 24 media update, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said she didn’t believe B.C. Is following the same trajectory as Italy.

Dr. Henry said the province’s testing strategy helped gain a better understanding of the virus’s growth trends in B.C. and allowed officials to react faster.

ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes