generalspeaking

Europe's Canary in the Gold Mine

"It looks like an apocalypse has struck, there is no one around."
"It is a total disaster. This will reduce us to nothing...  More people are going to die as a result of the economic crisis that this lockdown is going to cause than the virus itself."
Mario Monfreda, owner, Larys restaurant, Rome

"I would shut down all the shops, I would certainly close down public transport, and I would seek out all businesses that could be shut without creating excessive damage to the economy."
Attilio Fontana, president, Lombardy region

Prison officers stand guard as an ambulance enters SantAnna prison in Modena, inside one of Italy's quarantine red zones, following a disturbance there

The northern region of Lombardy, one of the first areas to be quarantined has called on the central Italian government to introduce even more stringent lockdown measures to battle the novel coronavirus that is ravaging the country. The disease has now spread to the entire country, even though Lombardy accounts still for 74 percent of fatalities. In Sicily, about 50 people are being fined for taking part in a funeral procession despite the order to postpone all funerals and wedding until the first week of April.

Lining up outside a butcher shop in Rome, an elderly woman was heard to say: "We're protected by the Vatican and by the sunshine. They don't have either of those in Milan." All Italians were ordered to remain at home, and that all non-essential travel be postponed until April 3, representing a widening of the already-sweeping steps taken in the north of Italy, the epicentre of the contagion.

Citizens were forced by police to leave at least a metre between themselves and anyone they might be standing next to, as a reflection of the country-wide quarantine.The 'red zone' was suddenly expanded to the entire country with the most severe controls on a Western nation since the Second World War, by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

Small business owners are quivering with fear about their ability to withstand the privations being imposed upon them, that these new orders will spell their end. The Carabinieri, Italian military police, have been tasked to patrol shops and cafes to separate people in prevention of the coronavirus spread in the European country with the highest daily death toll.

People wear masks while shopping at a supermarket in Milan, after Italy announced a sweeping quarantine zone covering its northern regions

People were being stopped at railway stations by police asking if they had a valid reason to leave the city. Police in the streets encourage citizens to remain within their homes. "[Police} asked me where I was going. I showed them my fruit and vegetables and they let me go home", said one woman who asked her name be withheld. Italy is experiencing a high 6 percent mortality rate, with an ongoing increase in confirmed infections, leaving its health system overwhelmed by elderly patients.

"Italians have always had the strength to start again, even in moments of difficulty", Luigi di Maio, Italy's foreign minister said. His country would demonstrate to the world that it would never surrender to the coronavirus sweeping Europe. Swimming pools, gyms, and sports centres were ordered closed. A potential three-month prison sentence awaits anyone who breaks the quarantine.

There are now 21,157 confirmed coronavirus cases in the country, with 1,441 deaths. Anyone imperilling others by failing to follow lockdown orders can be charged with maliciously causing death.