Italian grandparents — “nonni” as they are called — were pulled in two contradictory directions on Thursday — and as usual the grandchildren won out. In a decree that took effect Thursday, the Italian government urged the elderly and infirm to stay at home and restricted visits to nursing homes and assisted living facilities to contain the spread of coronavirus among those most vulnerable to it.

But Italian grandparents were out in force at the nation's playgrounds and parks, stepping in as last-minute baby-sitters after the government canceled school nationwide on Wednesday. The government move left 8.4 million students with no place to go for the next two weeks. Italy, the epicenter of the outbreak in Europe, has the world’s oldest population after Japan, and the elderly are particularly vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus.