Being an Italian in the United States over the past several weeks has meant living the nightmare of the pandemic twice. The first time was in February and March, as I heard the stories coming from parents and friends in Italy, once the global epicenter of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

The virus has killed almost 35,000 people in Italy in recent months, according to a database maintained by Johns Hopkins University. The second time came in March and April, when the surge of new hospitalizations opened the crisis up in the U.S., forcing governors across the country to close nonessential businesses and lock down counties and cities to slow the virus’s spread.