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Italy's Virus Shutdown Came Too Late. What Happens Now?
h/t Instapundit[NYT] - Italy underestimated the outbreak, then ordered a national lockdown to contain it. A month later, officials warn it is still too soon to reopen. ...Some scientists say that Italian officials did not act decisively to stop the virus early on, underestimating its danger and how quickly it spreads. "We realized the virus was here too late," said Roberto Burioni, one of Italy’s leading virologists. "It was already spreading." Any decision to let up now and ease restrictions on movement, public health officials warned, would risk a new wave of infections. "We haven’t reached the peak, and we haven’t passed it," Silvio Brusaferro, the head of Italy’s national health institute, said at a recent news conference. ...Recognizing the continuing severity of the crisis, Italy extended its lockdown to at least mid-April, with most government and public health officials recommending that the measures remain in place even longer. "If we started to loosen the measures, all our efforts made so far would have been in vain," Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said at a news conference on Wednesday. "We would pay a very high price. We ask everyone to continue to respect the measures." That message may be tough to hear for the 60 million who have spent the past month confined to their homes and whose patience is wearing thin. But public health experts stress that safely releasing Italy from lockdown will require not only more certainty that the spread of infection has slowed considerably, but also assurances that the country can prevent another immediate outbreak. The choice is not between damage to economy vs. lives. There is no choice - given a severe enough outbreak people who today produce and transport food, keep water, gas, electricity, and internet running will stay at home. And then we all die. Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2020-04-05 |
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