Italy imposed unprecedented national restrictions on its 60 million people Tuesday to control the deadly coronavirus, as China signaled major progress in its own battle against the global epidemic.
The outbreak, combined with a crash in oil prices, has caused carnage on financial markets, erasing billions of dollars globally.
The World Health Organization warned there is a “very real” threat of a pandemic, but its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the planet was “not at the mercy” of an illness that has killed more than 4,000 people so far.
China showcased growing confidence that it has brought its own outbreak under control, with President Xi Jinping on Tuesday paying his first visit to the epicentre of the crisis — Wuhan.
Xi’s unannounced trip comes as unprecedented quarantine measures that have sealed off Wuhan and the rest of Hubei province since late January appear to have paid off, with reported new infections dropping dramatically in recent weeks.
Chinese authorities announced just 17 deaths on Tuesday and the lowest number of new infections — 19 — since reporting began in late January.
While Hubei’s 56 million people remain under quarantine, China is slowly easing restrictions in other parts of the country, with people returning to work and some schools reopening.
China’s apparent progress stands in stark contrast to the rapid rise around the world, particularly in Italy, where more than 9,000 cases and 463 deaths have been reported.
Italy Lockdown
In a desperate bid to stem the spread, Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte went on television to announce the entire country would effectively be placed on lockdown from Tuesday.
“I am going to sign a decree that can be summarized as follows: I stay at home,” Conte said.
“Travel must be avoided across the entire peninsula unless it is justified by professional reasons, by cases of need or for health reasons,” he told Italians.
The measures extend a quarantine zone that Italy had imposed on its industrial northern heartland around Milan and Venice on Sunday.
The national restrictions will run until April 3 and mean that schools and universities will all immediately close.
Trains and numerous flights continued to operate into and out of Milan on Monday despite the earlier set of restrictions for its Lombardy region.
Since COVID-19 first emerged in China late last year, Italy has become Europe’s hardest-hit country.
An AFP count showed the country had recorded more than half of the 862 deaths reported outside China as of Monday night.
Worldwide more than 110,000 cases have been recorded in over 100 countries, with Canada reporting its first death.
It has disrupted global travel, cancelled sporting events and sent markets into meltdown.
Source: AFP
