World

Coronavirus: Whole of Italy to be put on lockdown, PM announces

Threat of Covid-19 pandemic ‘has become very real’ -WHO

Police officers and soldiers check passengers leaving from Milan main train station, Italy. Photograph:AP Photo/Antonio Calanni

Mon Mar 9 2020 - 20:52

Movement across Italy will be sharply restricted within hours, prime minister Giuseppe Conte announced on Monday, in an unprecedented clampdown aimed at beating coronavirus in Europe's worst-affected country.

Mr Conte told reporters that measures introduced just two days ago in much of the north were no longer sufficient after a jump in deaths tied to the highly infectious disease, and said the entire nation had to make sacrifices to stop its spread. He also said all public gatherings will be banned.

“The right decision today is to stay at home. Our future and the future of Italy is in our hands. These hands have to be more responsible today than ever before,” Mr Conte said.

Italy’s 60-million people will only be able to travel for work, medical reasons or emergencies until April 3rd. All schools and universities, which were closed nationwide last week until March 15th, will now not reopen before next month. The contagion only came to light near Italy’s financial capital Milan on February 21st. Since then there have been some 9,172 confirmed cases and 463 deaths, putting the national health system under massive strain.

READ MORE

Mr Conte said any public gatherings, including in the open air, would be forbidden and announced that all sports events, including top flight Serie A soccer matches, would be suspended. Mr Conte said public transport will remain operational

Mr Conte said a new government decree will require all people in Italy to demonstrate a need to work, health conditions or other limited reasons to travel outside the areas where they live. “There won’t be just a red zone,” he told reporters, referring to a lockdown of areas in northern Italy instituted over the weekend. “There will be Italy” as a protected area, he said.

Mr Conte told reporters that measures introduced just two days ago in much of the north were no longer sufficient and that they would have to be extended to the whole country from Tuesday.

Italy on Monday reported 463 deaths from the virus an increase of 97 from Sunday.

The extension comes after the government imposed a virtual lockdown at the weekend on the northern region of Lombardy and parts of neighbouring Veneto, Piedmont and Emilia-Romagna to try to slow the spread of the virus.

Deputy economy minister Antonio Misiani said the government might also consider a moratorium on companies’ payments of tax and welfare contributions.

Rome has already said it will pay self-employed workers in the areas worst hit by the virus €500 a month for the next three months to help make up for lost income.

Meanwhile the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Monday, coronavirus , also known as Covid-19, is closer to causing a pandemic but outbreaks in countries can still be controlled through a combination of containment and mitigation measures.

"Now that the virus has a foothold in so many countries, the threat of a pandemic has become very real," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, told a news conference. "But it would be the first pandemic that could be controlled. The bottom line is we are not at the mercy of the virus."

European Union leaders will hold emergency talks soon to discuss a joint response to coronavirus, officials said on Monday, as the bloc's executive considers relaxing state subsidy rules to allow extra public spending.

Ms Von der Leyen said the EU could also spend some of its own money to combat the crisis, but admitted resources were scarce.

The EU parliament on Monday shortened its monthly four-day plenary sitting to only one-and-half days.

The EU council, which hosts meetings of national diplomats and ministers, last week sent home more than 50 people after two infections among its staff.

A first case was also detected at the EU Commission, a spokeswoman for the body said on Monday.

A Nato spokeswoman said on Monday the military alliance had sent home some staff after one official working at the Brussels headquarters had tested positive.

Israel

Israel will require all citizens who return from abroad to self-quarantine for 14 days as a precaution, a measure aides said would go into force immediately.

Israel had already taken some of the most extreme precautions to prevent a local coronavirus outbreak, forcing visitors from many countries in Asia and Europe into home isolation. This had made travel and trade difficult, with tourism expected to suffer.

UK

Five people have died and 319 people have tested positive for the disease, up from 273 at the same point on Sunday, the UK’s department of health said. . Public Health England (PHE) will continue to trace close contacts of anybody diagnosed with Covid-19.

Germany

Germany has reported the first two deaths in the country of people infected with Covid-19.

Heinsberg county in Germany’s far west reported the first death on Monday.

The city of Essen then reported an 89-year-old woman’s death as the second.

The country reported 1,112 infections as of Monday morning.

Slovakia

Slovakia is banning Mass and all other religious events for the next two weeks. Prime minister Peter Pellegrini said all cultural, sports and social events are banned, including the closure of cinemas, and postponement of matches in the top football and hockey leagues. Slovak nationals who return home from Italy, China, South Korea and Iran have to be quarantined for two weeks at home. The authorities will also expand preventive checks on the border with Austria to all other surrounding countries.

Slovakia has seven confirmed cases of Covid-19.

Spain

Schools and universities in the Basque capital Vitoria will close for two weeks authorities in the region said on Monday as coronavirus spread in Spain.

Twenty-four people have died in Spain from the virus, after eight new fatalities were reported in Madrid on Monday. The country has a total of 999 cases.

Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez said the government was preparing plans to mitigate the impact of the virus on the Spanish economy.

Several major events have been called off or postponed in Spain to minimise the transmission risk.

France

The French government announced on Sunday it was banning all gatherings of more than 1,000 people in a bid to curb the spread of Covid-19.

France’s Culture Minister Franck Riester has tested positive for the virus.

Switzerland and Austria

Swiss customs officers began examining Italian commuters’ Swiss work permits on Monday and Austria readied spot health checks of people crossing its southern border in an effort to contain coronavirus.

Bern has told Swiss residents not to go to affected regions in northern Italy but the border remains open for goods and international trains have been operating largely on schedule.

Switzerland had already temporarily banned gatherings of more than 1,000 people to help curb the disease

Switzerland has reported 312 confirmed cases of the disease so far and two deaths. Austria has reported 131 confirmed cases.

Under Austria’s new measures, mobile health check teams will from Tuesday check travellers in the Brenner pass region and other crossing points.

Carinthia province said it would conduct “fever checks” at the border, while the Red Cross had begun mobile throat swabs by specially trained medics.

Portugal

Portugal’s president declared on Monday that he would remain in voluntary quarantine for two weeks despite testing negative for coronavirus, as an “example” to Portuguese people.

Slovenia

Slovenia will start health checks at the Ljubljana airport and is preparing to do so at the Italian border, health minister Ales Sabeder said. – reporting from Agencies

LATEST STORIES