Bend man talks of life under virus quarantine in Italy

Henry Mensing, 24, can't leave his apartment, except for necessities

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Henry Mensing of Bend is one of millions of people living under quarantine in Italy due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Five days ago, Italy expanded a quarantine nationwide, restricting people from leaving their homes, unless it's a necessity, for items like food or medicine.

Mensing is living in the northern Italian city of Mantua, about 100 miles southeast of Milan. Italy's first reported cases of the new coronavirus were in the northern part of the country.

As of Saturday, there have been more than 21,000 COVID-19 cases in Italy and more than 1,400 deaths, while 1,966 others diagnosed with the virus there have recovered, according to the global map on KTVZ.COM's coronavirus page.

Mensing told NewsChannel 21 in a Skype interview Saturday he traveled to Italy to teach English there, because the Italian culture has always fascinated him. He moved to Italy last September to teach English.

The school he works at has been closed until April 3, but Mensing does not expect to go back to work any time soon.

"This is crazy. I have never experienced anything like this in my life," Mensing said. "I mean, most of us probably haven't. This is the worst it's been since the Spanish Flu." 

"I'm strong. I'm not scared of no virus."

Henry Messing of Bend, under quarantine in Italy

Some Italians have turned the quarantine into a way to boost morale by singing from their balconies.

Despite the quarantine, Mensing said he's not worried about contracting the virus.

“As a young, fairly healthy person, the disease doesn’t worry me, personally," he said. "I’m strong. I’m not scared of no virus.”

Mensing said he had planned to travel around Italy and attend soccer matches and concerts following his teaching stint, but those plans are now in jeopardy.

Mensing's visa expires in May. He said he plans to get a 90-day visa by then, if the quarantine is still not lifted.