In the end it happened.
MECSPE was cancelled by the DPCM of 25 October.
Now I don’t intend to argue the fact that it is right or wrong to suspend an event like MECSPE a few days before the inauguration and therefore when all the preparation and outfitting has almost been completed.
And neither the fact that the decision has been an economic blow for so many enterprises, MICROingranaggi included, given the unfolding of the events.
I would however like to make 3 considerations.
The FIRST refers to the reason why we decided to attend this exhibition, despite the fact that we knew the situation could degenerate in the meantime and the event could be cancelled.
As I wrote last week, one of our main objectives was to give a positive sign:
we wear masks when we work, we work at a safe distance, we work in complete safety, but we continue to work.
Also because this pandemic is destined to last many more months (in a best-case scenario). So maybe it is better to adapt to the situation and to learn to live with the virus, putting in place all possible safety measures, rather than stopping and hoping that everything will disappear without actually doing anything.
The SECOND consideration refers to the Italian exhibition and trade fair industry. In the light of what has just happened, I cannot but comment that
the trade fair industry in our country is not reliable at present. But not because of errors committed by the trade fair organisers such as Senaf (the MECSPE organiser), as they are also victims of a general system that did not work.
We should remember that the DPCM of 18 October confirmed MECSPE, which gave the green flag for the outfitting work to commence which would clearly involve time, money and resources. Works which were then cancelled by another DPCM issued just a few days later.
I am referring therefore to government decisions that, once again, do not seem to follow a precise, clear and shared plan; decisions that lead to the cancellations of events as important as MECSPE just a few days before the inauguration date and causing, inevitably, considerable economic damage to so many businesses (exhibitors, outfitters, trade fair organizers and so forth).
The THIRD consideration is one of a more general nature and concerns the management of the pandemic on the part of our Government.
It is since March that, DPCM after DPCM, I have been told what I can and can’t do and, as a private citizen, I have always respected and always will respect the rules that I am requested to follow. The same applies to my company, MICROingranaggi.
It maybe due to my upbringing, my culture, my ethics, but the fact is that, if there is a rule, I am drawn to obey it.
Well, in the face of this,
I have never heard them state which objectives and which rules the Government itself should follow and observe along with all the institutions involved in respect of the health emergency.
Citizens must maintain safe distancing, wear a mask, disinfect their hands, and so forth. And the Government and institutions? Don’t they have anything to do regarding the putting in place of initiatives to protect public health?
I don’t want to be contentious. I‘m just asking a question.
For example, I refer to the processing, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, of a precise strategic plan, capable of achieving certain objectives in terms of the increase of beds in ICU departments in Italian hospitals within a specific date. Because this is one of the main problems that we have at the moment. Once again.
Another example is the purchase of a certain number of tests and reagents that can actually meet the demands that it was obvious would occur the moment in which there was a second wave of the pandemic. Because this is another big problem that we have. Once again.
Or again: what about a precise plan designed to increase controls, not only of citizens who do not respect the rules, but also businesses, hospitality enterprises, shops and so on. Another problem we have. Once again.
A citizen who is found without a mask is charged a fine of from 400 to 1,000 euro. But, on the other hand, what happens to a civil servant in charge of achieving specific objectives in terms of the number of beds available in ICUs, which are currently lacking? As far as I know, nothing. Quite the contrary! Nobody mentions it, because nobody has established and shared precise objectives.
As a private citizen, worried about the health situation in general, and as the owner of an enterprise that, like most others, is suffering during a crisis with few precedents and is doing everything within his power to keep calm and carry on, I cannot and do not want to think that now, after the first wave of the pandemic we witnessed in March, and everything that it generated, we are already talking about the lack of beds in hospitals and in intensive care units. And we have been hearing about the lack of reagents required to perform the tests for some time now. I could make endless similar examples, but I will stop here.
