A woman with a protective face mask walks across the Piazza del Duomo in central Milan on Monday. Photo: AFP

Italy has suddenly become the country most affected by the coronavirus crisis after China and South Korea. Currently, there are at least 270 infections and seven deaths (mainly elderly and physically weakened people). 

On Sunday evening, neighboring Austria blocked at the border a train from Italy with two suspected cases of coronavirus on board for a few hours; Romania ordered mandatory quarantine for all passengers from the Italian regions of Veneto and Lombardy. A member of the Italian parliament, belonging to the right-wing opposition party, was pictured wearing a mask.

"The number of cases is rising so rapidly because we are actively searching for the infected and the contacts they have had," Massimo Ciccozzi, a molecular epidemiologist at the University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, told the Global Times. 

"We are implementing a surveillance system but we have not yet identified patient zero. The search continues." 

Italy is now a split country, as most of the cases are located in the Italian manufacturing powerhouse. The area, which includes the regions of Veneto (38 cases), Lombardy (206 cases), Emilia-Romagna (18 cases) and Piemonte (four cases), is the productive heart of the second-largest manufacturing power in Europe after Germany. 

Concerns growing

Walking through the streets of Vicenza, a city of 100,000 inhabitants 30 kilometers from Vo', the village that recorded the first victim, teenagers were seen wearing surgical masks. 

"We wear them because we don't want to get sick," they said.  

"Of course we are worried," says middle-aged Pasquale Lamandola, "especially because of the lack of clear information. I have the impression that the media are exaggerating."

Giulia is a university student and she wears a mask. 

"My mother asked me to do it, she's very worried, I'm not. Universities are staying closed at least until March 1. I don't know when I'll be able to go back to my classes."

Andrea, who declined to give his real name, works in the family restaurant, not far from the beautiful city center of Vicenza. He is about 20 years old and comes from East China's Zhejiang Province. 

"We are open but customers have been dropping because of coronavirus," he told the Global Times. "We don't know if we will stay open in the next few days yet, the family will decide."

Naturally, the situation is much worse at Vo'. This village of 3,000 inhabitants, at the foot of the woody Euganei Hills, suffered a terrible shock on Friday night when the first coronavirus victim was announced. 

Adriano Trevisan, 78, was one of the many regulars of the village's main bar. 

"Pretty much everyone here attends that bar. I think this alarmism is too much," Dennis Desanti, a restaurant owner in Vo', told the Global Times over the phone. 

"All bars, restaurants and shops have been closed since Saturday, and with the news coming from the media, there was no one on the street today. It looked like a war zone."

For older people, their views are different. An old man in a village about seven kilometers from Vo' believes the reason for this epidemic is obvious.

"Our lifestyle is too comfortable; it has made us weak. I haven't taken a pill for 20 years and I never even get a cold," said the old man, who declined to be named. 

Quarantine urged

According to virologist Ciccozzi, quarantine is the only way to control the outbreak and to prevent the virus from circulating further. 

"This virus is very contagious and is transmitted through the air like the flu. People need to stay at least three feet away from each other to avoid infection."

In Milan, the economic and commercial capital of the country, the usually traffic-clogged streets are less busy, and there is a general run on supermarkets and shops. 

The Milan stock exchange is in sharp decline, and many companies and offices are closing, interrupting activities or asking employees to work from home. 

"My parents live 200 kilometers away. I went to see them for the weekend, before the outbreak, and I have no intention of going back there for the moment," said Giorgio, 32, who works and lives in an ICT company based in Milan.

"My colleagues have also decided to stay at home. We will work remotely. I must say, I was a bit scared seeing people coming out of supermarkets with end-of-the-world-like supplies."

Supermarket run

The assault on supermarkets is not limited to Milan. In many cities of the Veneto region, citizens were seen struggling to push carts full of spaghetti, rice, crates of mineral water, soap, biscuits and chocolate. 

"What will I do if the government orders us to stay locked up at home? What will I cook for my grandchildren? They are very young, they need to grow," says Barbara, a Venice-born pensioner. 

Usually quarrelsome Italian politicians are now uniting around Giuseppe Conte, a center-left business lawyer-turned Prime Minister. 

During a TV interview on Sunday, Conte promised to devote every ounce of his physical and mental energy to the emergency. 

Working side by side with young Health Minister Roberto Speranza and the governors of the most affected regions, Attilio Fontana and Luca Zaia, Conte is handling Italy's worst public health crisis in decades with great care. 

Gianfranco Pasquino, professor of Political Science of John Hopkins University SAIS Europe, believes the Italian government is reacting properly over the virus outbreak.

"The situation is very serious, also because Italians are very active people who move a lot. The authorities are doing their best and the national healthcare system is reacting very effectively, doing everything it can. Of course, it is vital to find patient zero," Pasquino said.

"So far the government has acted well. Mr Conte is doing as much as possible. This is one of the worst crises in our recent history, because it affects Italy's northern regions, the economically stronger and more productive ones."

For middle-aged entrepreneur Matteo in Vicenza, there is something else to worry about.

"I'm worried about the deaths, but also the economy. Not being able to go to Milan smoothly as usual is a problem. I hope this crisis is resolved soon," he said. 

"Luckily, however, the Italian economy is strong, and Italians are the Chinese of Europe: smart and hard-working guys."

The author is a freelancer based in Italy.
Newspaper headline: Crisis mode