A cyclist in the center of the cordoned off town of Codogno in northern Italy. Picture: EPA
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Over 100 Corona cases in Italy ++ Milan Opera canceled ++ Cities sealed off
the essentials in brief
- Over 100 cases of the Corona virus have already been registered in Italy. On Saturday, a 78-year-old man died in Padua in the Veneto region and a 75-year-old woman in Lombardy.
- Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has announced that the government is sealing off 11 municipalities with a total of 50,000 inhabitants in the north of the country to prevent the spread of the disease. Nobody is allowed to enter or leave these areas. If necessary, the armed forces would be used to enforce the order.
- Numerous public events have been canceled, including Serie A football matches, the Venice Carnival and a Giorgio Armani fashion show in Milan.
- The Federal Office of Public Health (BAG) in Bern announced that it was closely monitoring the situation in Italy. So far, however, no further measures have been taken. In the Ticino hospitals, people with flu symptoms are isolated and quarantined.
The latest developments
The situation at a glance
It is the first major Covid 19 outbreak in Europe – and one that will be difficult to stop in terms of dynamics. Within a few days, the number of infections detected in Italy has risen to over 130. As in China, cities are now being sealed off.
Despite drastic containment measures, the number of infections with the new corona virus continues to rise in Italy. By Sunday afternoon, more than 130 Sars CoV-2 cases had been recorded.
In Lombardy alone, around 90 infections have now been detected, as the region’s president, Attilio Fontana, told SkyTG24. According to the latest figures, there were 24 infected people in Veneto. Among them are two elderly people who are in hospital in Venice, said the President of the Veneto Region, Luca Zaia.
Terrified
Hours later, a second patient infected with the coronavirus died. It is a 78-year-old Italian woman who may have come into contact with an infected 38-year-old man in Lombardy, the Italian health authorities said.
The extent of the outbreak in Italy frightened. For comparison: there is still no case in Switzerland. 16 cases have been reported in Germany and twelve in France. Italy’s Vice Minister of Health, Pierpaolo Sileri, told SkyTG24 that he expects the number of cases to increase further.
“It is clear that we will have more cases.” As of Sunday, two deaths were recorded as Covid 19 victims: a 78-year-old in Vo (Veneto) and a 77-year-old in Lombardy.
The government responded with harsh measures. In order to prevent further expansion in the economically important north of the country, the most affected cities are cordoned off. Affected are the province of Lodi (Lombardy) around 60 kilometers southeast of the metropolis of Milan, where around 50,000 people live, and the city of Vo in the province of Padua (Veneto) with around 3,000 inhabitants.
First, security forces should cordon off the regions, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said. “If necessary, it will also be the armed forces.” Anyone who tries to circumvent the barriers faces “criminal prosecution”. In many cities and towns, schools and most of the shops were temporarily closed. Major events such as services, carnivals and sports events have been canceled.
BAG is not taking any further measures for the time being
A suspension of intra-European freedom of travel within the Schengen zone is not planned for the time being, said Conte. France is already preparing to expand Sars-CoV-2. The situation in Italy is “being followed closely,” said Health Minister Olivier Véran. The Federal Office of Public Health (BAG) has so far not taken any further measures because of the virus. The Swiss authorities are monitoring the situation in Italy according to their own statements.
The situation also came to a head on the Korean peninsula: the government of South Korea announced the highest warning level for infectious diseases due to the rapid increase in the number of cases in the country. A “critical moment” in the fight against Covid-19 will be reached in a few days, President Moon Jae In said on Sunday.
The central government as well as the local governments should not hesitate to take unprecedented countermeasures. The number of detected infections in the country was over 600 on Sunday, at least five people died.
The situation in Iran is still largely unclear. By Sunday, 40 infections had been recorded there. So far, eight people have died of Covid-19, the Ministry of Health said. The actual number of cases could be much higher, however, is feared.
According to the ministry, schools and universities have been temporarily closed in several cities. Cinemas will remain closed until further notice, and theater and concert events have been canceled.
Over 2400 dead in China
In China, the country of origin of Covid-19, the number of officially registered infections on Sunday was around 77,000, and more than 2,400 people died from the lung disease.
However, experts assume that there is a high number of unreported cases. According to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the novel corona virus is the greatest health crisis in China since the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949. (cbe / sda / dpa)
