Social distancing: Italian town raises toast with glasses tied to sticks amid quarantine

As Italy extends the lockdown until May 3, several Italians decided to perch on their balconies and celebrate an unknown occasion by raising a toast in an interesting style that has left social media amused, and envious the same time. Shared by a user named Mauro Ricigliano, the video posted on Facebook shows a group of neighbours presumably from Basilicata holding wine glasses tied to a bamboo stick and clinking them together, all the while following social distancing protocol. 

The video, which has amassed over 5.6M views, was liked by 43k people and is being widely circulated across social media. The 15-second clip gives a glimpse of young men and women in an unknown Italian neighbourhood who seem coordinated and jolly, socially bonding from the safe distance of their respective balconies despite the challenging times during the global pandemic. The video is also giving many on the internet ‘Quarantine goals'.  

Some users responded with a "laugh" emoji, and stated people are “always finding a way to socialize”. “Let me go and find a stick that’s long enough and move into this neighbourhood”, wrote another commenter. “Wow, I love it”, wrote the third commenter, “hope you all are doing okay, best regards and keep happy from Australia”, he added.  

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Read: Police Up Virus Controls As Italians Lower Their Guard

Lifting spirits up

Stuck at home due to pandemic, Italians have been taking to their windows and balconies to lift spirits of the people during the confinement - armed with pots, pans and singing voices. Some simply banged kitchen utensils, whereas others painted posters reading "Everything will be fine", and hung them up on their windows, terraces and balconies. Residents in some parts were also seen playing live music from their apartment blocks. While in some areas, people hung “supportive basket” in an ancient tradition to help the hungry and needy.  

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