Katja Brinkmann, 51, is a travel journalist and photographer. Together with her husband Vittorio Muolo, 53, and their daughter Emma, 8, the native of Allgäu has lived in Apulia for 12 years. The family normally lives in Lecce, but currently they all live in the Masseria Torre Coccaro in Torre Coccaro, where Vittorio works as a hotelier.

The situation in Italy is relatively chaotic. While the first lockdown in spring applied to the whole country and was very restrictive, Italy is now divided into zones in the second wave: yellow, orange and red.

We in Puglia are currently living in yellow (except for a few orange communities). This means that shops, bars and restaurants are open. However, we are encouraged to live as if it were a "complete lockdown", i.e. not to do anything that is not absolutely necessary.

We stick to the basic rules, never go outside without a mask, wash our hands and don't meet anyone we don't have to see. My daughter has been at dad (didattica a distanza, a kind of homeschooling) for a good month now. It's up to the parents to decide whether to have lessons on site or at a distance. Some of the children go to school, others learn at home in front of a screen.

Fortunately, Emma is very enthusiastic. We go on hour-long walks in the area, sometimes to the sea, sometimes into the forest, collecting earthworms, shells, snails or spontaneously building a tree house in one of the huge, ancient olive trees that grow here. We then have a picnic there at lunchtime.

I am a freelance journalist and photographer and still work from home or am on location for shoots. My husband works as a hotelier. The lockdown hasn't changed much for him in terms of work, even if the tourists have been noticeably absent since the summer.

Childcare is the responsibility of the parents. Apulian President Michele Emiliano is convinced that schools are centres of infection. Over the past few weeks, numerous schools have been closed due to new coronavirus cases - including in our municipality. We are therefore glad that Emma is homeschooling, even if it means eight hours of school on the screen every day, which she fortunately attends diligently.

In spring, the coronavirus situation was confusing for us Puglians. We watched what was happening in Lombardy on TV in horror. Here in Apulia, there were entire regions that didn't have a single case of coronavirus during the three-month lockdown at the time. Now, in the second wave, things are different. There is hardly anyone who doesn't know someone who has tested positive or fallen ill. Fortunately, we've been healthy so far, but unfortunately some of our friends have also died from coronavirus.

Our paediatrician, who is in charge of the children's ward at Martina Franca hospital, has some horrifying reports. The main problem in Puglia is medical care. For years, the healthcare system here has only been economising and unfortunately this is now taking its revenge. At the moment, there are hardly any intensive care beds left in the entire region.

At the (hotel) Masseria, we will probably celebrate with the more intimate family circle (about a dozen people), but not until the 25th. On Christmas Eve, as on New Year's Eve, the curfew is 10 pm. Stricter controls have been announced for the days in question. Meaningful and amusing at the same time: this year's Christmas poem at school is about how you can have fun at Christmas even without a large family.

The feelings alternate, everyone in the family experiences it differently and often with a time lag. Fortunately, the three of us generally get on well. That helps, because the three of us have been living in a hotel room since the start of the second wave. Otherwise, we live in a spacious flat in the old town centre of Lecce (around 90 km away). So that my husband doesn't have to travel as much, we are currently all living together in the hotel complex.

I'm trying to continue living as normally as possible. I'm doing my photo sessions and writing a film script. Yoga in the evening or a walk in the fresh air are good ways to take my mind off things. My husband is busy at the Masseria from morning to night, preparing for the coming season and has recently launched an online shop for Masseria products.

I am optimistic. The thing that bothers me the most is "not being able to travel". How often these days have I thought about just getting in the car and visiting my parents in the Allgäu? In the 12 years I've lived in Puglia, I've never felt as homesick as I do now. But we see each other regularly via video call. In short: I wish for freedom of movement and better times so that we can sleep peacefully again. Because despite all the caution, fear is always breathing down your neck.

Read about the situation in Australiain part 2 of our series Families in everyday coronavirus life around the world. You can read all the family portraits published so far here: Families and Corona worldwide.