Turin, Italy- Fear escalates in Italy as the deadly coronavirus hits Codogno in Italy. Michele, a 30-year-old man is very confused and considers what should be the next move as he came to know the epidemic has reached his hometown in northern Italy. The patient 1 is critically ill after being diagnosed with the novel coronavirus in Codogno. Michele was in Milan and had to decide whether to visit Codogno, his hometown.
He told the news agency “I wondered whether to head back on Friday evening”. He added “10 days earlier, my brother had spent a few days holidaying in the mountains with a direct colleague of Patient 1. I had flu symptoms and decided it would have been wiser to stay in a containment area, away from other people”.
Codogno is locked down and believed to be the “Wuhan of Italy”. Train services are shut off and the streets are deserted.
Within 72 hours of reporting of the first case of the novel coronavirus, about hundreds of wealthy zones of Veneto and Lombardy, having a population of no less than 50,000, were set into quarantine.
Italy is frantically struggling to contain the novel coronavirus. With 15 people dead of coronavirus, the country has become the largest nation to report coronavirus cases outside china after Iran. The people most affected by the coronavirus are elderly suffering from other severe medical conditions.
With 300 confirmed cases and 11 deaths, Italy has become a worst-affected country from novel coronavirus in Europe. The northern region is hard-hit by the virus. Officials announced the death of a 76-year-old woman, raising the number to 11.
Roberto Speranza, the Italian health minister said: “We’re talking about a virus that doesn’t respect borders”.
Michele decided to purchase groceries and protective masks in Milan, ahead of hearing the news about panic for protective masks. He then moved to Casalpusterlengo.
“My brother also showed some flu symptoms”, he asserted. He told “On Friday evening, I dialed the 112, Italy’s general emergency number. I gave my generalities. A person from the local emergency team said if we hadn’t entertained any direct contact with Patient 1, we would have not needed to undergo the coronavirus-specific swab test. Neither my brother nor myself show any flu symptoms today”.
The news agency shared a video as patient 1 is seen with 300 colleagues and the consultant is explaining the test procedure to those in contact with patient 1 before confirmation of coronavirus in patient 1.
It can be seen that the specialist is trying to calm the participants, informing them that their chance s of contracting the disease is lowest if they make minimum contact with patient 1.
As of, schools and museums are shut off in major cities; sports and cultural events are called off. In Milan, trade fairs were canceled. The bars that are unlocked ought to follow a curfew.
Michele held “I didn’t see any panic on the street. But everyone has been taken aback by the aggressiveness of the virus and by how quickly the number of the infected patients has grown”.
Currently, the epidemic has affected neighboring regions of Italy.
In Spain, a hotel is locked down as an Italian doctor was diagnosed with the virus. In Barcelona, an Italian woman was tested positive for the coronavirus marking the first case of the disease in Spain.
An Italian man reached Algeria, being the first case of coronavirus in the region.
Three schools were closed in the United Kingdom after skiing trips.
The UK and Austria have issued a travel warning for Lombardo and Veneto, and Romania with a larger number of expatriates in Italy stated that the people evacuated from Italy would complete a mandatory quarantine period of two weeks.
The European Union has allocated 232 billion Euros for the coronavirus emergency. The Italian administration is taking into account the imposition of taxes and bills upon people from most-affected towns including Michele’s Casalpusterlengo.
Michele articulated, “At the moment, there is a sense of unreality”. He maintained, “Residents have been urged to stay home and special permission is needed to enter or leave the designated areas. I find these measures draconian as they affect people’s civil liberties”.
Very few people can be seen on the streets wearing protective masks.
He said, “I didn’t see any panic on the street”. “But everyone, including myself, has been taken aback by the aggressiveness of the virus and by how quickly the number of the infected patients has grown”.
Little or no evidence has been found regarding case 0 or the source of the virus. As per reports, the hospital of Codogno mismanaged the first case of the coronavirus, fuelling the spread of infection.
Michele informed that there was a shortage of protective masks in Casalpusterlengo, while most of the shops are selling the protective masks at an inflated price. Mostly, protective masks are out of stock.
People have been criticizing the administration for poor access to emergency services, lack of coordination, and shortage of testing apparatus in the locked-down regions.
Officers are wearing surgical masks while police and military are patrolling in the locked downtowns.
Residents have a feeling of being abandoned.
The chaos is obvious in the hospital wards as a patient who visited the hospital in Lombardy was “repeatedly and frantically” asked about flu symptoms.
The Italian premier assured that Italy had observed precautionary measures and shut off flight operation to and from china the barring proved to be otherwise, but the efforts have paid off, he said.
The head of the civil protection agency, Angelo Borrelli, on the other hand, vowed that there is no threat for tourists if they visit Italy while addressing the news conference.
Francesca 42 (not a real name) living in Castiglione told the news agency she came across several infected patients.
She narrated her elder cousin, her friend’s uncle living in Lombardy town, who has been suffering from the deadly virus.
Her friend’s uncle has other medical conditions including coma and heart attack, and his wife confirmed with coronavirus as well and admitted to hospital.
She said, “After people are taken to hospital, information is limited. One is prevented from visiting the person on the premises for obvious reasons. Still, we don’t know much afterward” while referring to her cousin confirmed with coronavirus. She said, “We are very worried”.–Worldwide News