Italy was placed on a total lockdown on Monday evening, following a dramatic spike in new coronavirus cases and deaths across the country. Italian stocks also plunged on Monday's trading.
Italy Locks Down Entire Country
On Monday evening, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said at a media briefing that the red zone order previously implemented on the northern region has "now extended to all of the national territory," CNN reported.
The announcement came hours after riots broke out across prisons as inmates protested the order to temporarily prohibit family members from visiting jails in hopes of preventing the further spread of the novel coronavirus.
As of Monday, the country has 463 total CoVID-19 deaths, with confirmed cases reaching 9,172, marking the biggest outbreak outside China to date.
Conte Reiterates Urgency in Locking Down Italy
In a TV address Monday night, Conte said the move of locking down the entire country was made to protect citizens who were most vulnerable to the fast-spreading and fast-progressing CoVID-19 strain.
According to BBC, Conte noted that there is "no more time" to delay the lockdown. He said the whole of Italy will be treated as a "protected zone" so specialists can work on containing the coronavirus.
Conte went on to explain that everyone in the country "must give something up" in efforts to protect the entire nation from further adding to its already ballooning infection and death tolls.
Among the things that Italians and foreign nationals in the country will not be allowed to do is to attend public events on gather in crowds in public areas or facilities. Sports events and matches have also been suspended.
Schools will not be opened until April 3 or until further notice. People without valid family or work-related reasons will not be allowed to travel and arriving nationals or visitors need to explain their reason for flying to Italy.
Italian Stocks Plummet
Following the report that the country saw a 24 percent surge in new coronavirus cases, Italian stocks plunged.
Blue-chip FTSE MIB did not open earlier on Monday, along with other European stock markets. When the index finally opened, stocks traded down by 2,290 points, CNBC reported.
The said disappointing numbers are equivalent to an 11 percent drop in trading data. By late Monday afternoon, the FTSE MIB index went down by as much as 9.5 percent, indicating an ominous start of the week that could see further downturns in the coming days.
WHO Warns of Pandemic Threat
After the dramatic turn of events in Italy, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said "the threat of a pandemic has become very real."
According to Reuters, while Tedros believes that the threat of a pandemic closing in on the world is becoming more apparent as the days pass, he said if it happens, it will be a pandemic "that could be controlled."
On the other hand, fears for the 60 million people locked down in Italy have been rising over the past two days as people express their dismay over the draconian measures.
Twitter Breaks Down amid Lockdown
Twitter users have been racing to express their angst over the lockdown on Italy, with some users questioning the government's draconian move. Click here for Twitter posts under #Italy.
One user said it is worth thinking about the citizens who "fled the red zone to wake up in the red zone." Others shared footages of what appears to be riots in different parts of the country as people protest the lockdown.
Some people have also posted photos of residents across the country lining up outside supermarkets to ensure that they will have food and necessities prepared as the lockdown ensues.
