Dstandish's Weblog

While it is logical to lock down areas (mostly in the Lombardy region like Codogno, plus Vo’ Eugeneo) with multiple cases of coronavirus, it is irrational to close schools, universities, museums, monuments and companies in areas without cases of the virus. Many of these institutions have been closed until 1 March 2020 in 5 regions of Italy, including regions where today (24 February 2020), there are no positive cases such as in the regions of Trentino or Friuli. Companies like eye wear maker Luxottica and top bank  UniCredit have told their employees to stay at home, but such responses risk weakening Italy’s fragile economy with 25 to 30 per cent of GDP generated by the Veneto and Lombardy regions. In addition, the national government decision to become the first Eurozone country to ban direct flights with China at the end of January 2020 was risk-averse and meant it could not track people travelling to Italy from China indirectly. It is better to allow direct flights and to test and quarantine people travelling from areas with many positive cases.

While it is sad 7 elderly victims of the coronavirus have been recorded dead in Italy by 24/2/20, it should be noted that there was a daily average of 217 deaths in Italy from regular ‘flu and related illnesses during the sixth week of 2020:

Influenza stagionale 2019-2020: il punto della situazione

Moreover, in the USA over 8,200 people have died from regular ‘flu this winter, including many young people:

With 8,000-Plus Deaths in U.S. Alone, Flu Far More Deadly Than Coronavirus

Although the situation in Italy is concerning, especially for elderly people, it is actually less serious for young people than in the USA. So keep flying to Italy, keep schools open in non-affected areas and keep calm!

You can hear my interview by clicking on the link below:

Sky News on Italy