Chronicle Editor
Rome (Italy) — Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has ordered the lockdown of the country’s northern region of Lombardy and 14 provinces in an attempt to halt the spread of a new coronavirus.
The move, announced on Saturday, places almost 16 million people in the new red zones until April 3.
“We understand that these measures will require sacrifices, but this is the movement of self-responsibility,” Conte said in a news conference on Saturday.
The drastic move comes after tests revealed a big increase in the number of coronavirus infections. In its daily update, Italy’s civil protection agency said on Saturday that the number of infected people rose by 1 247, bringing the total to 5 883.
Among those infected is the head of the co-ruling Democratic Party, Nicola Zingaretti.
In addition to Lombardy, the quarantine area has been extended to the provinces of Modena, Parma, Piacenza, Reggio Emilia, Rimini, Pesaro e Urbino, Venezia, Padova, Treviso, Asti, Vercelli, Novara, Verbano Cusio Ossola and Alessandria.
The government’s decision restricts all movements in the quarantined area. Police forces will patrol the roads in these provinces.
Those who enter or exit the region without a significant and “not deferrable” work reason or a health emergency will be fined.
“This is not a ban on any movement, but citizens will have to justify them,” Conte said.
Museums are closed and any sorts of civil ceremonies, including funerals, are suspended. Bars and pubs that can guarantee a distance of one metre between customers are open but will close their doors at 6pm.
Gyms, swimming pools, theatres and betting shops will close and athletes will be forced to train indoors without any crowd.
“We must act to avoid the spread of the infection and the overload of our health system,” Conte said.
In recent days, concerns have been raised over the availability of intensive care for the most vulnerable and affected patients.
On Friday, the association of medical directors (ANAAO) sounded an alarm over a lack of beds in intensive care wards in Lombardy hospitals.
Almost 95 percent of those wards are full, the organisation added.
“We foresee 18 000 patients admitted to hospitals by March 26. Around 2 700 to 3 200 of these will require intensive care,” Antonio Pesenti, coordinator of intensive care units in Lombardy, told the Corriere della Sera newspaper.
“Today, we already have over 1 000 patients in intensive care or whose condition can get worse at any time.”
Regional authorities have sceptically accepted the new decision by the prime minister.
“It goes in the right direction, but I must underline that it looks quite messy,” said Lombardy Governor Attilio Fontana of the right-wing League party.
Luca Zaia, another League leader and president of the Veneto region, which includes Venice and other cities entered in the red zone, has fiercely opposed the decree, considering it “excessive”.
“We are dealing with some limited clusters that don’t affect the overall general population, so I cannot understand the reason behind such a disproportionate action,” Zaia wrote on Facebook.
Carlo Calenda, head of the liberal Action party, believes the real problem lay in the vagueness of the orders.
“It’s impossible to adopt these them. Do you block the roads with the army?”, he tweeted early in the morning.
A draft of the government order was leaked to the Press and it was circulated widely on Saturday night, prompting a rush to leave the red-zone areas.
La Repubblica newspaper reported that in Milan, about 500 people dashed to the train stations, trying to take the last trains out.
“That’s crazy. A severe decree is leaked, people panic and try to escape from a hypothetical red zone, taking the infection with them. In the end, the only effect is to help the spread of the virus,” virologist and scientific communicator Roberto Burioni tweeted on Saturday night.
Conte criticised the leak and the spread of the unsigned draft, saying it created “uncertainty and confusion”.
“I think this drastic measure was necessary,” Federico Iaccarino, a 33-year-old electronic engineer from Naples who lives in Milan, said. — Al Jazeera
Online Reporter