Last updated on 1 April 2026
Well, let us start from the beginning; as you may know, I am a teacher and the deputy director of a school.
It all began in February with the first indications regarding the Coronavirus on the “Portale ticinese della didattica” website; I found the first mentions among my archived emails in a newsletter dated February 20, 2020, which directed us to the school website https://scuolalab.edu.ti.ch.
Coronavirus—initially, that is what it was called, and it was not yet clear how infectious or dangerous it might be.
In those days, news reports showed footage of the situation in China, … but it felt very far away from us.
As with SARS (2002–2003), many people, myself included, thought it had affected China but would never reach our latitudes.
We were very critical; as with SARS, a great deal of financial and logistical resources had been invested only to remain unused in the end. In this case, however, we would unfortunately soon have to change our minds.
On March 3, 2020, I woke up with a fever, a migraine, and a general sense of malaise. I immediately thought of Coronavirus, but it was likely the first signs of the Chronic Myeloid Leukemia that was diagnosed later.
I felt ill, but it was nothing devastating.
I called my primary care physician, who told me to stay home, lock myself in my room, and avoid contact with other family members.
He said he would stop by during the day to perform a swab test to check for the virus.
It seemed like a rather severe and exaggerated directive; until moments before, I had been sleeping with my wife, and I had already been in contact with my children when I got up.
Regardless, I followed his instructions, and the day after the swab, I received the negative result with great relief.
Until a few weeks prior, anything described as negative was considered wrong or something to be redone; soon, we would become accustomed to reversing our conception of negative and positive.
In any case, I had a fever and therefore had to stay home for 10 days (as prescribed by the medical certificate), even though I would have preferred to return to my daily work and leisure activities.
On March 12, 2020, I received word that my director and colleague had contracted Coronavirus. It appeared to be a form of influenza with a heavy cough—at least, that was the information I received at the time.
I was at home, but overall I felt fine, so I worked from home and tried to fill in for my colleague.
As an IT specialist, I had this privilege—a privilege that would soon become the norm, albeit with a significant investment of finances and resources.
On March 13, 2020, the official announcement arrived. During a televised press conference, the closure of all schools in the Canton was ordered. Initially, the closure was planned until April 4, 2020.
Instead, we had to wait until August 30, 2020, to see colleagues and students in person again.
As far as I know, a directive of this kind had never been issued before, and it began to worry me, even if many considered it an exaggeration.
On March 16, 2020, I spoke with the director on the phone to organize an official communication regarding the various directives for students and teachers concerning the distance learning we were developing.
It was then that I realized the severity of the illness; my colleague struggled to finish a sentence without coughing.
I learned in the following days that he had been hospitalized and was in intensive care; he had been intubated and later transferred to the Clinica Luganese Moncucco.
In the following weeks, the Vocational Training Division officially appointed me to replace the director.
This period was not easy, though it was very interesting and rewarding.
In fact, together with my colleagues, we had to completely overhaul the training programs as well as the various qualification procedures and promotion rules for all educational paths. This was done, of course, following the directives issued by the Department of Education, Culture, and Sport (DECS).
Despite my school commitments, given the situation, I volunteered to help in my previous profession as a professional rescuer.
For two months, I worked shifts as a driver for the medical car (SSU), a rescue vehicle used to transport specialist personnel (emergency doctors and/or certified specialist rescuers).
We were stationed at a hotel in Bissone, covering the entire Sottoceneri region for critical situations requiring specialist intervention.
During that period, interventions were very laborious—not so much due to the patients’ conditions, but because of the health precautions required before, during, and after the calls.
The contagiousness of the virus required us to completely sanitize the ambulances after every intervention involving potentially infected patients.
This operation took a long time, rendering the vehicle unusable for hours.
Great assistance was provided by civil protection members who took over this task.
It was a journey into the past that moved me deeply and provided much gratification, just as it had in the past.
Returning to my primary activity, the school:
the summer months were demanding, as we had to conclude the current school year and plan for the new one.
This always involved preparing for different scenarios due to COVID (distance learning, blended learning, or in-person attendance).
The director was still ill, although his health was improving day by day.
His return was scheduled for September, but we did not yet know at what capacity.
Without a director, my colleagues and I found ourselves having to play it by ear and improvise… but that was fine!
The group was close-knit; we spoke daily and helped each other, even from a distance.
The moments when we could meet in person could be counted on one hand.
It was demanding, but it brought me a great deal of satisfaction and allowed me to gain an active and in-depth understanding of school administration and organization.
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