American-born Reggae Girlz defender Allyson Swaby says she was able to flee coronavirus-ridden Italy and is now back home in the USA where the deadly disease is also making an impact on its global rampage.

The 23-year-old, who plays for women’s Serie A club AS Roma, told the Jamaica Observer on Wednesday that she made the decision to leave Italy, the worst affected European country, as the deadly coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) became a pandemic.

Swaby’s last-minute decision to depart the Italian capital Rome for her home in Boston in the USA was just in time before authorities in the stricken country tightened restrictions on the ports and urged its 60 million citizens not to travel at this dark hour.

At press time yesterday, more than 12,000 people in the south-central European nation were confirmed to be infected with the sweeping COVID-19, with over 800 deaths.

Italian authorities have ordered all shops, bars, and restaurants across the country to close, as governments across Europe cancelled events, shuttered schools, and imposed travel bans.

On Wednesday, the World Health Organization formally declared COVID-19 a pandemic, with global figures showing 129,771 cases and 4,751 deaths.

Jamaicans have been thrown into panic mode over the past couple of days with two confirmed imported cases, which has forced the state to execute sweeping contingencies by suspending public events, including the popular GraceKennedy/ISSA Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships.

The Jamaican Government, in another move to contain the spread of the deadly disease, has made the decision to close schools for 14 days.

Swaby, who was a member of Jamaica’s historic team to the Fifa Women’s World Cup in France last year, said her club had given players permission to leave if they wished as the sporting machinery in Italy grinded to a halt.

“I recently returned to the USA from Rome as I saw that there was about to be a lockdown of all of Italy, and I kind of made the decision to get home as quickly as possible. So Monday night I booked a flight to come back and I left Rome on Tuesday morning and got to Boston last night [Tuesday].

“My club gave us permission to leave and there were a lot of girls who were already out of the country due to the international window. So many of them were already with their national teams, but for me I was in Rome and I just decided it would be better to be at home if things were to get worse rather than being in a foreign country,” she said.

Swaby said while she was not fearful of the reality of the killer virus, she admitted that to be smart could mean the difference between life and death.

“The situation really didn’t have me scared, but obviously I am more cautious now and making sure that I am not coming in contact with excessive number of people and of course washing of the hands and the normal things they are telling everybody to do, and that’s what I have been doing,” she shared.

The Connecticut native said on her departure from the Leonardo da Vinci International Airport and arrival at Logan International in Boston, there were test checkpoints for all travellers.

“They tested for temperature and these things at the airports as they have been trying to block people who might have been ill. As far as Rome is concerned, there was no case that was publicly confirmed as far I know, as the outbreak it is concentrated on the northern side of Italy and I have not been there recently, and because of that, I was allowed to travel and leave the country.

“I think that if I had tried to leave today [Wednesday] it would have been a lot harder, and even not possible, to leave, so I am happy that I was able to get on top of it quickly,” Swaby noted.

She said the suspended football leagues in Italy hope to resume early April, if the atmosphere is found to be safe to do so.

“In Italy the leagues has suspended all games in the Serie A, for both men and women, until the 3rd of April, and there is also a governmental lockdown of the country as well until the same time, but obviously that can change depending on whether the situation is getting better or worse.

“There are a lot of restrictions as to what can be done during the day for normal civilians, and there are also restrictions from the governing bodies of football as well… but they [authorities] certainly have taken drastic action, certainly more drastic than here in the USA,” Swaby stated.

She said she has spoken with a number of her Jamaican teammates who are also based in professional outfits across Europe, and most share stories of some measure of lockdown.

“I have spoken to a few of my teammates in other parts of Europe, and it seems a lot of them have been shutting down by suspending games or putting games behind closed doors.

“When I spoke with Bunny [Khadija Shaw] briefly it didn’t seem like they [authorities] have taken any action as yet, and she was curious about what was going on in Italy and she wanted to know what was going on with me.

“I also talked with Dominique Bond-Flasza and she actually had a game cancelled this weekend and training for her has been suspended until Monday as they are also taking some precautions in the Netherlands, other than that I am not sure what other countries are doing apart from what I have seen in the media,” Swaby said.

Shaw plays professionally in Bordeaux in France, the second worst affected country in Europe with 2,281 cases and 48 deaths. Another player, Havana Solaun, is signed with FC Paris.

Among the Jamaican Reggae Girlz playing in Europe are midfielder Marlo Sweatman at Szvent Mihaly of Hungary and wing-back Deneisha Blackwood, who is at FC Prague of Austria.

“So far there hasn’t been anything I’ve heard from the FA [Football Association], and I think that is due to the low number of cases. But my coach has warned us of the seriousness of such a worldwide virus and given us hygiene advice.

“It’s definitely a scary thing and I do have some worries; it’s already tough enough to be a foreigner in a country, let alone a foreigner in foreign country while an epidemic is going on,” Sweatman told the Observer from her base in Hungary.

“I think the main thing is I just have been informing myself on what to do personally to stay healthy, what to do if the worst happens, where to go, phone numbers of important people in my club if something happens… of course just prepare for the worst, but hope for the best,” she added.

As of yesterday, there were 16 confirmed cases with no fatality in Hungary, while in the Netherlands they have reported 614 and no death and Austria has seen 158 cases and no death.

Meanwhile, Reggae Boyz left-back Kemar “Taxi” Lawrence, who plays for Belgium giants RSC Anderlecht, said he is doing his part to follow the health protocols and preventative measures instituted by his club.

“What everybody is doing is trying not to get it, or come into contact with someone who has it, and you really don’t know who has it…before games they are saying we should not shake hands, or fist-pump, but at the same time you and the opposing players are out there fighting, grabbing each other, in close challenges for the ball, you are in each other’s face, so for us as players it’s hard,” he said.

“My club has been putting up posters of a list of things we should and shouldn’t do at this time, and as you know this is a country where people greet by embracing and kissing on the cheek, so the club has told us not to greet like that for the time being; they say no handshakes, but you will see a fist-bump here and there,” Lawrence added.

He said while he is not fearful, he is being responsible and cautious.

“Of course I have been thinking about it, but I am not necessarily feeling fear…so what I have to do on my part is to try to minimise the contact with others, especially those who I don’t know.

“The reality is that this thing is every where and it’s here in Belgium although the cases here may not be as many as in Italy or France,” he ended.

At press time yesterday, Belgium COVID-19 figures were 399 cases with no death reported.

Other notable Reggae Boyz playing in Europe are Shamar Nicholson, who plays in Belgium; Damion Lowe, who is based in Norway; and Leon Bailey who plies his trade in Germany.

The figures at the time of writing show Germany with 2,502 cases with five deaths, while Norway has recorded 489 with no report of death.