Neighbours from Naples to Tuscany make harmonies across empty streets to lift spirits and pass the time during quarantine

Italians have been singing from their balconies across the country, in an effort to boost morale during its nationwide lockdown that began this week, due to Covid-19.

Videos of Italian neighbours singing together have been appearing on social media after Italy’s prime minister Giuseppe Conte announced the restrictions that shut down virtually all daily life, and leftonly grocery stores, banks, and pharmacies open.

Coronavirus Italy: PM extends lockdown to entire country Read more

A video shared by Twitter user @valemercurii, recorded harmonies echoing down narrow streets residents in the Tuscan city of Sienna, joined together in song.

“People of my hometown #Siena sing a popular song from their houses along an empty street to warm their hearts during the Italian #Covid_19 #lockdown,” the resident said in a tweet.

valemercurii (@valemercurii) People of my hometown #Siena sing a popular song from their houses along an empty street to warm their hearts during the Italian #Covid_19 #lockdown.#coronavirusitalia #COVID19 #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/7EKKMIdXov

The video showed a deserted street during the night, along with the voices of men and women singing Canto della Verbena (And While Siena Sleeps) – a popular patriotic folk song.

Ryan Meilak (@rmeilak) Italy. People locked inside turn to their windows and balconies singing so everyone feels less lonely. Here is #Naples singing "Abbracciame" (Hug me). #Coronavirus #CoronavirusUSA pic.twitter.com/DHVPvxbB8d

Posts have also emerged from Naples, of people singing pop artist Andrea Sannino’s song, Abbracciami. Residents in the port city of Salerno, in the south of the country, were recorded singing the country’s national anthem from their balconies.

Italians have also been trying to boost their morale by spreading a slogan of reassurance: “Andrà tutto bene” – everything will be all right.

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Millions of children have been stuck at home because their schools and nurseries have closed, and many have started leaving hand-drawn notes in their neighbourhoods, bearing the Italian equivalent to the Cantonese phrase jiayou, translating into “don’t give up” or “hang on in there”, that has been used frequently in Wuhan since the outbreak began.

Social media posts with messages from China have also appeared, expressing solidarity with Italians. The videos show people saying “jiāyóu”, which translates to “add oil” and roughly means “keep up the fight” or “stay strong”. Residents in Wuhan, who went into lockdown at the end of January, chanted the same phrase from balconies of their apartments.

Play Video 0:18 'Wuhan jiāyóu': chants of solidarity spread across city at epicentre of coronavirus – video

It was a motto later co-opted by government officials, but remains a message of human solidarity in the face of isolation and adversity.

Evidence is growing that in China the outbreak has passed its peak. On Saturday the national health commission reported just 11 new cases of Covid-19 and 13 deaths, 10 of which were in Wuhan.

South Korea is showing a similar slowing trend, recording just 107 new cases on Saturday. It was the second day in a row that the daily number of recovered people exceeded that of new cases.

Italy, by far the hardest-hit European country, with 17,660 confirmed infections and 1,266 deaths, has banned all travel unless certified necessary on professional or health grounds and the 62 million population expected to stay mainly at home.