Coronavirus: from Milan to Venice, northern Italy quarantined

The measure is draconian. The Italian government announced Sunday, March 8, the quarantine quarantine of the north of the country, the economic lung of Italy. The area concerned goes from Milan, the economic capital, to Venice, the Mecca of world tourism.

"The decree (of quarantine) will be published in a few hours in the Official Journal and will come into force" immediately, announced the Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, at a press conference given in the middle of the night. "We will succeed" in stemming the epidemic, he promised.

Quarantine until April 3

Travel to enter and leave the area concerned will be strictly limited during quarantine, which will remain in force until April 3, stipulates the decree, the content of which had been revealed as of Saturday evening by several Italian media.

Milan has just under 1.4 million inhabitants, and ten million people live in Lombardy, the economic and industrial lung of the peninsula. No information on the impact of quarantine on the Italian stock exchange, which is headquartered in Milan, was immediately available.

The most affected region in the country, Lombardy (3,420 positive cases and 154 dead) is facing a tense situation in its hospitals, "recognized the head of Civil Protection Angelo Borrelli on Saturday.

"We expect that we will be asked to transfer patients to intensive care units in other regions." A hypothesis that promises to be difficult after the entry into force of the quarantine.

In addition to Lombardy, the government decree concerns part of Veneto (Venice region) and Emilia-Romagna (Bologna region), notably the cities of Parma and Rimini, as well as eastern Piedmont.

"These measures will cause inconvenience and impose sacrifices. But now is the time to be responsible (...) We must protect our health and that of our loved ones, of our parents, but especially that of our grandparents, because we have discovered that it is mostly they, the oldest, who are exposed, "said Giuseppe Conte.

Inside the quarantine zone, all schools, museums, sports halls, theaters and cultural centers will remain closed. Bars and restaurants can remain open, but only from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and on condition of respecting the safety distance of at least one meter between customers.

Curfew

The decree also orders the limitation of internal displacements: it will be "absolutely necessary to avoid any displacement with the exception of those motivated by professional obligations or emergency situations".

"The police will be able to ask" citizens to "justify" their trips, said Giuseppe Conte.

Stores will also have to respect the safety distance between customers, and will even have to close if they are unable to do so. Their access will also be limited in order to avoid "crowds".

Alerted by the media, residents of Milan went out on Saturday evening to shop in shops that are usually deserted at this time, found an AFP photographer.

Access by families and relatives to hospitals, emergency services and reception facilities for the elderly will be "limited only to cases provided for by the health management of these establishments", which will "be required to adopt the necessary measures to prevent possible infusions. "

In the professional context, work meetings should be postponed and telework should be given priority. In the religious field, the opening of places of worship will be conditional on the possibility of avoiding crowds.

In addition to quarantining the north of the country, the government has also taken action nationwide. Until April 3, cinemas, theaters, museums, pubs, game rooms, dance schools, nightclubs and other similar places will remain closed. However, it will still be possible to shop on weekdays or go to a bar or restaurant, provided that the safety distance of at least one meter between customers is respected.

With 233 dead, Italy, with a population of 60 million, is in second place behind China for the number of coronavirus-related deaths, and in 3rd place behind China and South Korea for the number of cases, nearly 6,000 to date.

The government also announced on Saturday the recruitment of 20,000 reinforcements for its hospitals, in order to increase from 5,000 to 7,500 the number of intensive care beds, an increase of 50%, and to double the number of places in services. of pneumology and infectious diseases.

With AFP

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