Many Flee Italy’s Northern Region as 16 Million People Are Quarantined
Italy experienced its highest day-on-day rise in deaths from coronavirus on Sunday, as deaths rose from 233 to 366, a rise of more than 50% in 24 hours. The Italian government was planning to quarantine 16 million people, but the news was leaked to the press before it was implemented and many people rushed to flee the region. Thousands crowded train stations or hopped in their cars to get away.
Footage from Milan train station where suddenly people arrive to flee from the possible quarantine zone pic.twitter.com/gj52lSQgWZ (via @amos8125) #Covid19
— Gregor Peter (@L0gg0l) March 7, 2020
The whole of Lombardy, including the financial capital of Milan, and 14 provinces across the worst-affected northern regions, have been shut down until 3 April. The measure does not totally restrict movement within the affected area. But it means that schools, museums, and theaters are closed, events like weddings and funerals are suspended, and bars and restaurants must keep customers a minimum distance apart. People can enter or leave the affected area only for emergencies, with the possibility of jail time for those who break the rules after they went into effect.
The measures have resulted in empty streets in Milan and other regions. Soccer matches are being played in empty stadiums.
Even people outside the quarantined regions are leaving Italy due to the severity of the measures and the big jump in coronavirus numbers. The World Health Organization described Italy’s measures to The Guardian as “extreme” and as something that “never been done in any other democratic country.”
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