Cigarettes, a few jokes on offer at Italy’s quarantine checkpoints

In one Italian village under coronavirus quarantine, an unassuming bus stop bench has become a lifeline. Residents of Castiglione d'Adda…

In one Italian village under coronavirus quarantine, an unassuming bus stop bench has become a lifeline.

Residents of Castiglione d’Adda head daily to the bench, where those on the outside drop off money, groceries, cigarettes or documents — whatever needed for those unfortunate enough to be stuck inside.

After five days, locals in this “red zone” and others like it under quarantine in Italy’s north have organised new ways of getting by.