Italian government excluding nothing as it tries to combat coronavirus outbreak
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Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte at the press conference did not exclude more restrictive measures if the experts deem it necessary to control the outbreak of coronavirus in the country.
He added that “We have allocated an extraordinary sum of 25 billion not to be used immediately but certainly to be used to face all the difficulties of this emergency “.
Conte told reporters that already tough restrictions on movement might be tightened further after the northern region of Lombardy, centered on Italy’s financial capital Milan, asked for all shops to shut and public transport to close.
Region of Lombardy asked for all shops to shut and public transport to close
“We are ready to listen to requests from Lombardy and other regions,” Conte told a news conference, adding that caution would be needed before deciding to introduce fresh measures.
Meanwhile, tighter checks have started at the Brenner border crossing on Wednesday, as Austria announced limits at the border. Only motorists with a medical certificate will be able to leave Italy and then they will have to stay in self-isolation for two weeks. The trucks will, for the moment, instead be able to pass after the measurement of the body temperature of the truck driver. The border with Italy remains open to freight traffic and cross-border commuters. Truckers and workers will be subjected to the termoscan.
A team of five experienced doctors are to be sent to Italy from China.
They include a member of the Beijing Red Cross and a specialist from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention: they will bring “their skills” and supplies to help Italy against the coronavirus epidemic, reports CGTN, the English-language TV of the state CCTV.
Yesterday, in a phone call with colleague Luigi Di Maio, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that “if the Italian side asks for it, China is ready to send medical personnel to help Italy”, according to Chinese media.
Italian Civil Protection Chief and Coronavirus Emergency Commissioner Angelo Borrelli said Tuesday that the total number of people to have been infected with the coronavirus in Italy has crossed the 10,000 mark.
