Compare and contrast: Some observations on public behaviour differences I saw in Italy regarding Covid. I was there for 8 days, returning to the UK last week, and the rate remains far lower than elsewhere in Europe, despite Italians being real social animals.

I was in three locations: Rome (for the airport, in and out), the glorious lakes near Viterbo, north of the capital, and the Gran Sasso national park in the East... Everywhere I went there appeared to a real and uncontroversial consensus over how to act.

*Everyone* wore masks - or had them on standby. Staff in shops were wearing them *all the time*. Folk in the street were wearing them or would pull them up if they mingled to have a chat. Surprisingly little public emphasis on distancing - more focus on the masks and hand-washing

Some shops explicitly required a temperature check before granting entry. Squirt of gel as you enter, squirt of gel as you leave. Track and Trace felt a bit wobbly tho. Some places took visitors' details, others didn't.

Here's a Covid-secure TV remote from a hotel - basically plastic shrink-wrapped so it can be more easily cleaned - anyone else come across one of these?

Rome's Fiumicino Airport felt very, very secure: Temp test as you approach the departures terminal down a long corridor. Any suspicions you're contagious, they'll block your entry and order you to go to the in-airport test centre.

It goes without saying that Italians don't like hanging around *boozing at the bar*. People sit down to eat and drink. Most folk go home long before they'd be drunk. Will those cultural differences matter in final tally?

Up a mountain: I was climbing on my bike in the Gran Sasso range & stopped to wolf down a Porchetta sarnie at a roadside stall. ("Yum yum, pigs bum," to quote my wife.) The stall's server asked me to don my mask even though we were outdoors at 1,400m + of altitude

Forgot to add one: Everyone appears to have banned tasting different cheeses and salami at the vast Deli counters. #whatashocker