Man’s 280-mile walk cost him $500 in COVID-19 lockdown fines

He was just trying to cool off a heated argument — but now he’s paying for it.

A man walking from Como, Italy, ended up 280 miles southeast in Fano, seven days after a blowout fight with his wife.

Adding insult to injury, the unnamed husband, 48, was also slapped with 400 euros (about $485) in fines for breaking coronavirus pandemic travel restrictions on his week-long walk, according to Italian authorities. They found him trekking at about 2 a.m. on Tuesday, well past the national curfew, requiring people to stay home between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.

Police records then revealed that the man’s wife had already reported him missing a week prior, citing a confrontation that prompted him to leave their home on foot. They also said he put up no resistance to his arrest.

Walking an average of 50 miles per day, the journeyman, who spoke to Italian newspaper il Resto del Carlino on the condition of anonymity, said people had stopped to help him along the way. Local law enforcement later provided the man with lodging at a nearby hotel until his wife could make the trip to pick him up.

“I ate and drank because the people I met along the way offered water and food,” he told reporters. “I’m fine, just a little tired.”

Italy was initially one of the hardest-hit countries by the pandemic, but recently set a new record for their highest death toll with 993 COVID-19 victims in one day on Friday — up from the record they set March 28 with 971 deaths in a 24-hour period, according to the World Health Organization.