With more than 2,000 infected people, Italy has the most coronavirus cases of any country outside of Asia. More than fifty people have died, but 149 have recovered. In a few days, the number of cases has spiked, even though Italy adopted the toughest measures against China to avoid the spread of the virus in the country. What did go wrong, then? Actually, we don’t know yet. Suddenly, in a small village in Northern Italy, a 38-year-old went to the hospital and was diagnosed with Covid-19. We don’t know how he was infected, but all his epidemiological links were traced and tested. As the number of confirmed cases grew, more and more tests were run: in less than two weeks, 23,345 people have been screened for free. A much higher number than many other Western countries. That’s why Italy has the highest number of confirmed cases: you won’t find the virus if you don’t look for it.
From the small village in Lombardia, Codogno, the coronavirus has then spread to other areas in Italy. However, all the cases are, until today, somehow linked to the origin of the outbreak. In order to try to stop it, the Italian government has adopted severe decisions, including the isolation of the villages where the outbreak started: schools are closed in three regions, ten “serie A” games have been postponed and shops, cafés and restaurants must respect some additional rules to avoid contacts between people.
In the meantime, however, important economic losses have been registered and different countries have suggested their citizens not to travel to Italy or have suspended flights to Milan. Tourists are afraid to come to Italy and are cancelling their hotel reservations. Investors can’t imagine what will happen in the future and don’t want to work with Italian companies.
That’s why last week the Italian minister of foreign affairs Luigi Di Maio gathered the foreign journalists who work in Italy to reassure them: «The outbreak affects a very small part of the Italian territory and a very small percentage of the Italian population – he said during the press conference -. Italy is a safe and reliable place. Tourists and investors should keep on coming here».