Coronavirus: ‘Italy’s darkest hour,’ says PM as north locked down

Italy’s prime minister vowed to impose “massive shock therapy” on the country to fight the explosion in cases of coronavirus as the government began to enforce a lockdown of northern regions and riots erupted in dozens of prisons.

Giuseppe Conte said on Monday the authorities would "use all human and economic resources" to contain the outbreak of coronavirus, also known as Covid-19, after announcing the most drastic restrictions on personal movement yet adopted in Europe against the spread of the disease.

The prime minister’s comments came as the restrictive measures, including the prohibition of physical meetings between inmates and their families, triggered riots in 27 prisons, in which several inmates died and guards were held hostage.

“This is Italy’s darkest hour,” Mr Conte told La Repubblica newspaper, using Churchillian tones.

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The four-week lockdown covers Lombardy, including its capital Milan, and 14 other provinces in northern Italy, which together make up the powerhouse of the country's economy, prompting economists to predict a bigger than previously expected contraction in the first half of 2020.

The Italian economy, the third largest in the euro zone, could shrink by 1 per cent in the first half of 2020, Morgan Stanley said in a note. The government last week doubled a planned stimulus package to €7.5 billion.

Puglia warning

The restrictions across northern Italy were announced in the early hours of Sunday morning following leaks, but only began to be implemented on Monday, allowing thousands of people to leave for other parts of the country or abroad. The head of the southern region of Puglia urged northerners to stay away.

Italy has become the most seriously affected country outside China by the coronavirus outbreak. The number of cases in Italy has in a fortnight surged from a handful to 7,375, with 366 deaths, as of Sunday evening.

On Monday those numbers rose sharply to 9,172 cases and 463 deaths, respectively, the Civil Protection Agency reported.

The government decree implementing the lockdown instructs citizens to “absolutely avoid” either entering, leaving or moving around designated areas other than for emergencies or essential work-related reasons.

Schools, universities, museums, shopping centres and cinemas have been shut. Cafes and restaurants will be allowed to stay open, with some restrictions – bars will have to close by 6pm in red zones and a distance of one metre between customers must be guaranteed.

Police began performing checks in central stations and road junctions on Monday to enforce the rules, with controls also carried out in bars and restaurants. Anyone defying the restrictions faces fines of up to €15,000.

Prison riots

Six inmates died after a riot erupted in a jail in the northern city of Modena, Francesco Basentini, head of Italy’s prison administration, told national broadcaster Rai.

Footage from Sky TG24 showed dozens of police officers deployed outside the San Vittore prison in Milan, where inmates were leaning out of the windows and chanting. Some could be seen on the roof. Donato Capece, head of prison guards’ union Sappe, said two guards had been taken hostage in a prison in Pavia.

Controls were put in place on the country’s border with Switzerland, where an estimated 80,000 Italians commute every day for work, according to Swiss federal data. The Swiss government said the frontier would be closed to all travellers except commuters needing to reach places of work and for goods traffic. Those wishing to cross will have to provide official proof of their work and its location.

“For all other activities, the Italian authorities have issued severe restrictions. Consequently, the Swiss and residents of Switzerland are asked not to travel to the regions concerned,” the Swiss Federal Council said in a statement.

Italian and Swiss authorities began setting up additional control and security points along what is a normally porous border between the two countries. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2020