Italian towns on lockdown after 2 virus deaths, clusters

[Mrs. Overall]

Source: AP

A dozen northern Italian towns were on effective lockdown Saturday after the new virus linked to China claimed two lives in Italy and sickened an increasing number of people who had no direct links to the origin of the virus.

The secondary contagions prompted local authorities in towns in Lombardy and Veneto to order schools, businesses and restaurants closed, and to cancel sporting events and Masses. The mayor of Milan, the business capital of Italy, shuttered public offices.

Hundreds of people who came into contact with themore than 40 people confirmed infected in Italy were in isolation pending test results, and civil protection crews set up a tent camp outside a closed hospital in Veneto to screen medical staff for the virus.

In hard-hit Codogno, where the first patient of the northern cluster was in critical condition, main street was practically a ghost town Saturday, with supermarkets, restaurants and businesses closed. The few people out on the streets were wearing coveted face masks, which were nearly impossible to find in sold-out pharmacies.

Read more: https://apnews.com/cc5d1db9353b21297d987ef594f0facc?utm_medium=AP_Europe&utm_source=Twitter&utm_campaign=SocialFlow

[Coventina]

1. This will start happening globally. It's only a matter of time. n/t

[defacto7]

2. Yes, unless it mutates in our favor. Vaccine not expected

until early 2021.

[DENVERPOPS]

8. The CDC

has been shouting from the rooftops their concern for quite some time now.

Of course Trump, his voters, the republican party, the anti-vaccers, the evangelicals, etc etc etc blew their warnings off.
Those clowns declared themselves THE authority on the matter, despite their total ignorance of any scientific knowledge whatsoever.

CDC knows exactly what was about to happen. Their scientists had computer models based on past potential epidemics and were trying to warn us and the world........

[Mrs. Overall]

3. Can someone explain the "no direct links to the origin of the virus"--does this mean that the people

who are ill were not in contact at all with anyone from China themselves, but may have contracted the virus from asymptomatic sufferers of the virus who had been in contact with China?

Just trying to understand exactly what this means.

[Coventina]

4. My understanding is that yes, they got it from asymptomatic carriers. n/t

[Mrs. Overall]

5. Thanks. Also, I agree with your first post--I think this is possibly the beginning

of a real global outbreak (and attempt at containment ) of this virus.

I have been very surprised at how many people I know who are completely downplaying coronavirus. They actually make me feel like some sort of conspiracy theorist for showing any concern.

[Coventina]

7. Some people think it's "practical" to belittle a future threat in favor of more tangible ones.

Partly why we also have a climate crisis.

[democratisphere]

6. Little can be done.

The virus will just run its course.