One of Italy’s most endearing attributes may be the reason it was hit so hard by the coronavirus. The European country has the second-most cases in the world at 27,980 — second only to China — and almost 2,000 deaths so far. Now researchers are learning why.

Italy’s social and multigenerational way of life, in which the young and old live and spend quality time together often, could be why rates of infection and death are so high, according to a new paper published on the Open Science Framework by researchers at the University of Oxford.