Coronavirus reaches Italy: Carnival cancelled in Venice, fashion show in Milan
At an emergency cabinet meeting, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said that because of the Covid-19 coronavirus, Italy will not try to suspend the Schengen Treaty, as this will plunge the country’s economy into depression.
In northern Italy, the epidemic and quarantine situation is reminiscent of China: at the time of Sunday evening, the infected are known: in Lombardy - 88, in Veneto - 24, in Piedmont - 6, in Emilia-Romania - 9, in Lazio - 2. Since Saturday, the coronavirus has spread from two to four regions in Italy. Giuseppe Conte told a news conference that 129 people are currently in hospital under observation, 54 are hospitalized with symptoms, 26 are in intensive care and another 22 are in home quarantine.
The Italian authorities began to act in a similar way to China: 11 districts with about 50 thousand inhabitants, where infected people were found, completely blocked and cordoned off by police, which do not let anyone in or out of their borders. At the very least, the government was willing to bring in the army.
Inside the quarantine closed shops, schools, universities, government agencies, restaurants, etc. To supply food in each city, 1 supermarket is open: locals, dressed in masks, are forced to line up - small groups are allowed inside for purchases in order not to create crowding and reduce the likelihood of the spread of the coronavirus.
According to eyewitnesses, which lead the Italian media, the Lombard town of Codonho near Milan began to resemble a ghost town. “In Codogno there is no longer a human soul on the street. It's like we're in Wuhan, one resident told Italian state television.
The authorities’ actions are complicated by the fact that the so-called “zero” patient – from which the coronavirus began to spread in Italy – has not yet been identified. All those with whom the first cases were communicated have never been to China, so it is unclear where the coronavirus came from in the north of the Apennine Peninsula.
Coronavirus reached Venice in the midst of the famous carnival, when the city is filled with tourists. On Sunday, the first infected person was confirmed in Venice.
The government made an immediate decision to close the carnival early from Monday.
Source: tourprom