Italy declares state of emergency over coronavirus
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The Italian Government on Friday declared a state of emergency to speed up the fight against the Coronavirus and prevent it from spreading.
The move came a day after it was announced that Italy had registered its first two cases of the virus: a tourist couple from China.
The state of emergency is often declared in Italy in reaction to earthquakes, heavy storms and, as occurred recently in Venice, floods.
This is because it provides a fast-track procedure for raising funds and other resources such as civil protection for setting up shelters.
Two cases of the new coronavirus have been found in Rome, a couple of Chinese tourists at a central Rome hotel. The couple arrived in Milan from Wuhan, the city at the centre of the outbreak, on January 23. They also stopped in Parma.
The couple have been admitted to Rome’s Spallanzani Hospital, which specialises in infectious diseases. Their room at the Palatino Hotel has been cordoned off by health operators. There is also a suspected case in the Veneto region, a minor from the Treviso area who recently got back from a trip to China. Premier Giuseppe Conte has announced that all flights to and from China will stop.
The number of coronavirus cases worldwide has now surpassed that of the Sars epidemic, which spread to more than two dozen countries in 2003.
The mortality rate for the new strain of coronavirus is currently low, at 2% – less than Sars at 10% and Ebola at 70%, the chief medical officer says.
But the death rate could yet go up if more of those in hospital die, or down if it’s discovered there are many other people with mild symptoms.
