WUHAN FLU: Italy’s Coronavirus Casualties Pass 1,000
Richard Moorhead
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Italy’s total casualties from the Chinese coronavirus passed 1,000 on Thursday, far outpacing death rates for other European countries.
The southern European nation is ground zero for the virus in Europe. More than 15,000 people have been diagnosed with the disease, a figure that suggests the mortality rate of the condition is even higher in Italy than it is in the virus’ place of origin in Wuhan, China.
The death count was increased by 189 people in the past twenty-four hours, placing the latest figures released by Italian authorities at 1,016.
President Donald Trump included the pandemic-stricken country in a new travel ban announced on continental Europe Wednesday night, acknowledging that the spread of the pandemic is out of control throughout the European Union.
Several major regions in the north of the country have been placed under a mandatory quarantine. More than 16 million Italians are living under these conditions as of Thursday.
Chilling footage of Italian police instructing all citizens to remain in their homes surfaced earlier this week.
Video of Italian law enforcement telling everyone to stay in their houses. #COVID19 #quarantine #lockdown pic.twitter.com/QDhYnAxihW
— coriiiiiiiiiiii (@coriiiiiiiiiii1) March 10, 2020
The Vatican has even ordered churches in the vicinity of Rome to be closed amidst the pandemic, underscoring the seriousness of the situation.
JUST IN: The Vicariate of Rome has ordered that all Churches in the diocese be closed until April 3, preventing Catholics even from praying before the Most Blessed Sacrament. #italylockdown #COVID2019
— Diane Montagna (@dianemontagna) March 12, 2020
The European Union failed to enact restrictions on its conventional ‘freedom of movement’ system after the outbreak arrived in the country, suggesting that it’s possible the pandemic currently present in Italy could arise in neighboring European countries such as Germany, France and Spain.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo made the striking claim that the state was going to see a situation akin to that in Italy within the coming weeks during a press conference on Thursday.
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