Having spent over 15 years in England playing professionally with Watford, Aston Villa and Manchester United, Ashley Young now sits in the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in northern Italy. Young recently took the time to share with his Twitter followers what the situation looks like and to offer helpful advice.
Hi everyone, just wanted to share my thoughts given I'm currently living in Italy, the epicentre of the virus.
— Ashley Young (@youngy18) March 24, 2020
Realistically a supermarket is now your main risk at spreading this virus and even catching it. Speaking with family and friends at home it sounds like going to get food is just crazy. Remember, lockdown means lockdown!
— Ashley Young (@youngy18) March 24, 2020
In Italy going to the supermarket is surprisingly calm... no fights over food, no stripped shelves and most certainly no abusing staff members for limiting food or any reason at all! And in almost every case it’s usually just one person shopping for a household!
— Ashley Young (@youngy18) March 24, 2020
Please read the following and share this if you haven’t already, it really is time to do your bit to help tackle this awful global crisis we are in!
— Ashley Young (@youngy18) March 24, 2020
‼ Queuing to go into supermarket is standard, but not because it’s for stockpiling or greed. Supermarkets have limited the number of people entering at any time so it’s never over-crowded! So wait and be patient to go in if your supermarket is doing this.
— Ashley Young (@youngy18) March 24, 2020
‼ If you have to get in the lift only get in with 1 more person, 2 people per lift at one time. And stand on opposite sides of the lift and face the wall - don’t breathe outwards towards that stranger.
— Ashley Young (@youngy18) March 24, 2020
‼ Always use gloves from moment you get out of your car! You don’t want to touch trolleys that other hands have been on. Keep the gloves on until you are getting back in the car.
— Ashley Young (@youngy18) March 24, 2020
‼ Use a face mask or scarf to keep you nose and mouth covered.
— Ashley Young (@youngy18) March 24, 2020
‼ Always keep your distance at the till. Keep the trolley behind you when you unpack at the till as it stops people from being able to to get too close.
— Ashley Young (@youngy18) March 24, 2020
‼ Don’t unpack your shopping right on top of somebody else’s, make a gap between theirs and yours so none of your shopping touches theirs. Here we can’t put our groceries on the belt until the person in front has finished paying.
— Ashley Young (@youngy18) March 24, 2020
‼ This may sound harsh but treat everybody that’s not in your household as if they have the virus, you just don’t know!!!
— Ashley Young (@youngy18) March 24, 2020
‼ Most importantly, just stay safe! This is what we are doing here, it’s not an overreaction, it’s staying safe. And just remember others should be looking at you in this way as well. It’s not horrible, it’s a way of keeping your distance to ultimately help save lives.
— Ashley Young (@youngy18) March 24, 2020
Young provides useful advice to all of us on how to approach the situation, even for those not living in Italy. One person noted how helpful the defender’s advice is compared to the advice from his own country.
Ashley Young giving out better advice than UK government
— Martin (@Martin_H1988) March 24, 2020
It's unknown when, or even if, the 2019-20 Serie A season will resume. In the Englishman’s first five league games with his new club, he recorded a goal and an assist.
