All schools in the northern part of the country, the worst-hit area of Italy, have now been shuttered, and many towns throughout the region have also been put under mandatory quarantine. The Italian government is also urging people not to hug each other or shake hands as a further precautionary measure.
Italy's institutions of learning will remain closed at least until mid-March as authorities attempt to contain what has now become the worst coronavirus outbreak in European history.
The first case of the Wuhan coronavirus (CoVid-19) in Italy was confirmed to have come from an Israeli person who was vacationing there before returning back to Israel last week.
By passing this emergency decree, the Italian government will have the jurisdictional leeway to also issue travel bans on people leaving and entering areas affected by the novel virus.
These school shutdowns are reportedly creating considerable stress on Italian families, many of whom are lamenting the disruption it's creating in their lives.
"We think 10 days off is totally useless," stated Malvina Diletti, a local mother of an eight-year-old boy, about the stupidity of a quarantine this short. "It's not even enough to discover if you're sick," she correctly added.
Diletti is correct, as we also reported on how the true incubation period for the Wuhan coronavirus (CoVid-19) isn't even 14 days, but actually up to 24 days, making the government's shorter quarantine periods certifiably useless.
Diletti thinks the Italian government will end up extending the school closure period even longer to reflect the true incubation period, though this will also be a problem for her family.
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"So, they'll probably extend it, which is bad as it's tiring to have [my kids] home all the time," Diletti told BBC News. "They may be happy today – it's the first day – but they'll get bored eventually.
Listen below as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, talks about how the government's response to the Wuhan coronavirus (CoVid-19) is like some kind of bizarre hospital scene from the film Idiocracy:
ALL cinemas, public events now shut down across Italy
Not only is Italy shutting down many of its schools, but reports indicate that all cinemas, theaters and other similar gathering venues are being closed immediately and indefinitely as part of extended measures to contain the Wuhan coronavirus (CoVid-19).
The decree explains it as "the suspension of events of any nature ... that entail the concentration of people and do not allow for a safe distance of at least one meter (yard) to be respected."
In other words, Italians are being told that they need to just stay home in isolation and do next to nothing other than feed themselves, use the toilet, and sleep. How they plan to go out and buy food while staying at least one meter from other shoppers remains to be seen.
Interestingly and hypocritically, Italy is one of Europe's many open borders countries that for many years has been allowing "refugees" from other less desirable enclaves of the world to pour across its borders, potentially exposing native Italians to whatever diseases happen to be circulating at any given time.
"Why the Italian authorities refuse to close the borders for the influx of undesirable elements who constitute a security and health risk for whole Europe?" asked one commenter at The Jerusalem Post about why the Italian people should have to suffer while "refugees" are free to roam about without consequence.
For more of the latest news about the Wuhan coronavirus (CoVid-19), be sure to check out Pandemic.news.
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