Highways are empty - not another human in sight as New Zealand photographer Brydie Thompson and her family tried to flee Italy late last week. Photo / Brydie Thompson
Highways are empty - not another human in sight as New Zealand photographer Brydie Thompson and her family tried to flee Italy late last week. Photo / Brydie Thompson
A Kiwi family in lockdown in Northern Italy, the epicentre of the coronavirus where the death toll soared again overnight, tried to flee the country but couldn't get out.
Photographer Brydie Thompson, husband Phil and their two daughters Mischa and Lulu, drove hundreds of kilometres in a last-minute bid to escape, only to find cancelled flights out of Venice and Rome.
The couple have been working in Cortina, a ski resort in Northern Italy, as part of an overseas experience with their young daughters.
Italy in lockdown as Covid-19 sweeps the country. New Zealand is heading into a similar lockdown as a state of national emergency was declared Wednesday. Photo / Brydie Thompson
"After seeing the situation escalating here in Italy and reading updates on Mfat [Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade], we contacted the NZ Embassy in Rome," Thompson said.
"We were advised to get home ASAP. They were trying to be helpful but were struggling to give us up-to-date information - they didn't know any more than us about the situation."
The family bought flights out of Venice on Friday but when trying to check in they were told they could no longer transit through Japan.
Airport staff scrambled to help the family but there was no alternative.
No way out of Italy for one New Zealand family as surreal photographs of the situation show. Photo / Brydie Thompson
The outdoorsy family had to retrieve a car rental, reload their gear, including skis and bikes, and drive to Rome where they were confronted with the same situation.
"Flights kept getting cancelled and there were constant changes regarding what airports we could transit through. Nobody wants anyone coming out of Italy to go near them.
"There was no way out. Maybe with Qatar if you have upwards of €12,000, which we don't and even then there was no guarantee of getting all the way home.
"Our worry was getting stuck in an airport somewhere on the way home."
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The foursome found a hotel, bunked down for the night and returned the next day to their old apartment in Cortina, where they have been living since late last year to explore the Dolomites.
"We're lucky, there are people stuck in far worse situations."
Highways are empty - not another human in sight as New Zealand photographer Brydie Thompson and her family tried to flee Italy late last week. Photo / Brydie Thompson
Along the way Thompson photographed various scenes throughout the country, documenting the surreal effects of the coronavirus and lockdown.
On Wednesday the death toll in Italy from the virus rose by 743 in one night to 6820 with almost 70,000 infected.
Thompson posted surreal images on social media of Italy's empty streets on their 900km return drive south late last week as they tried to escape the coronavirus-plagued country.
The usually vibrant ski resort town of Cortina in Northern Italy is now a ghost town as Italy is in full lockdown with the coronavirus. Photo / Brydie Thompson
"Everything is changing so quickly," Thompson said of the situation.
"We're in full lockdown here in Italy now. It stepped up another level on Sunday. We've been advised to stay home unless grocery shopping [must be very limited trips or home delivery], visiting the pharmacy or an emergency. No walks.
"Anxious masked people stand far apart outside waiting their turn. Cortina is usually a vibrant ski town at this time of year. It's now a ghost town.
"If you are to leave the house for the above you must have a form filled in [a new one each time] stating your reason for being out. The form is in Italian and difficult to translate, oh and we don't have a printer.
Brydie Thompson during her family's dash from Northern Italy to Venice, Rome and back to Cortina to escape Covid-19. Photo / Brydie Thompson
"The fines are huge if you break the rules. Police patrol the streets. We understand the extreme measures here though - the coronavirus situation in Italy is terrible.
"We are okay to wait it out, for now. We're together, we have a roof over our heads, we're surrounded by beautiful mountains, the kids are entertaining themselves well.
"There's optimism here though and as we drove past villages banners could be seen hanging from balconies with 'Andra Tutto Bene'. Everything will be alright.
"But we're a bit worried how long this is going to go on for. Our concern is that if we needed to get home for whatever reason [something happens to us or our family at home] we will not be able to."
