Codogno (Italy) (AFP)
The 52,000 inhabitants of 11 cities in the North of Italy woke up Sunday in quarantine, with prohibition to enter and leave their zone, after an abrupt multiplication of the cases of new coronavirus and the first two deaths of Europeans on the continent.
The government adopted a very strict legislative decree on Saturday evening which puts 11 cities in isolation, 10 in Lombardy (Milan region, north-west) and 1 near Padua in Veneto (Venice region, north-east).
"Neither entry nor exit will be allowed unless there is a special exemption," said Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, adding that about 52,000 people are affected.
The main focus of what could be an indigenous epidemic of Covid-19 in Europe, unprecedented on this scale, is around Codogno, a locality of 15,000 inhabitants, many of whom work around or in Milan, 60 km away.
Police officers, belonging to a dozen brigades from all over the North, explained to AFP that they were setting up "a very large perimeter" around the towns concerned, which will however allow the movement of populations inside the zoned.
While calling on the population to observe a kind of self-quarantine, the government has provided for sanctions of up to three months' imprisonment for violating these limitations.
Saturday evening, the head of civil protection Angelo Borelli had announced 76 new indigenous cases, including the two deaths, in addition to three patients treated in Rome (including a healed) who had contracted this viral pneumonia virus outside Italy.
But on Sunday, the president of the Lombardy region, Attilio Fontana, member of the League (far right), spoke of higher figures, with "more than 100 cases" in the country including 89 in Lombardy, demanding "increased border controls ". And the boss of the Veneto region Luca Zaia announced Sunday a toll of 25 contaminated including 19 around the second identified Italian home, the village of Vo 'Euganeo near Padua.
Patient 1 for Lombardy is a 38-year-old man, Mattia, part of the American multinational Unilever, which has an important site near Codogno, in Castelpusterlengo, where 120 of the 160 employees have been tested.
His illness is a mystery because it is excluded that he was infected by one of his friends who returned from China in January. "Based on the tests, (the friend) did not develop the antibodies," said Deputy Minister of Health Pierpaolo Sileri.
Very athletic, patient 1 participated in several marathons in early February. Unintentionally, he contaminated his 8 month pregnant wife, a friend with whom he played soccer and three regulars at a local bar. The other cases in the home are doctors, caregivers, and patients at Codogno hospital who have infected those around them.
Closure of all public places including businesses and schools, cancellation of cultural and sporting events and school excursions throughout Italy and abroad ... The government has taken containment measures to try to put under bell a part of Lombardy and Veneto to slow down the epidemic.
Three Serie A league matches scheduled for Sunday have been postponed - Inter-Sampdoria, Atalanta-Sassuolo and Verona-Cagliari. The universities of these two major regions will be closed as a precaution.
In the main foyer, in Codogno and nine neighboring localities, all public places (bars, town halls, libraries, schools) except pharmacies have been closed since Friday evening.
The other contamination zone is Vo 'Euganeo, where the very first death of a European victim of the virus, a 78-year-old Italian mason named Adriano Trevisan, was announced on Friday. A woman of the same age died near Codogno the following night.
- Deserted streets -
In Codogno, AFP journalists saw deserted streets on Saturday evening.
"We are all afraid, but we cross our fingers, we hope that everything will be fine," said AFP Rosa, a pharmacist, saying she feared "supply problems in the coming days".
The trains of the private company Trenord no longer stop in Codogno or in two neighboring cities. Many residents work in the metropolis of Milan, the Italian economic capital.
Luminous signs announce: "Coronavirus, the population is invited to stay at home, as a precautionary measure".
Erika, a waitress in a restaurant that has closed for 15 days, admits to being "a little scared because we can all be contaminated". "We are buying food supplies because we do not know if the supermarkets will remain open," she added.
In Milan, where the Fashion Week parades continue, designer Giorgio Armani announced Saturday evening that he would be parading his models on Sunday with in-camera streaming "so as not to put the health of the participants at risk". Other brands such as Boss, Laura Biagiotti and Dolce e Gabbana have maintained their presentations to the public.
In Veneto, shocked to have recorded the first Italian death, the authorities tested Chinese nationals who frequented the same Vo 'Euganeo bar as the deceased mason.
© 2020 AFP