Italy announces third death linked to coronavirus

Posted by DanielS on Monday, 24 February 2020 12:05.

Italy announces third death linked to coronavirus

The Local 23 Feb 2020:

An elderly cancer patient became the third person known to be infected with the coronavirus to die in Italy, health officials said on Sunday, as the number of people contracting the virus continued to mount.

The death of the woman in a hospital in the small city of Crema in Lombardy, the centre of Italy’s coronavirus scare, followed that of a 77-year-old woman on Saturday and a 78-year-old man on Friday, the first European victim of coronavirus.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte urged people “not to give in to panic and follow the advice of health authorities”.

“We should not be afraid because of the rising numbers,” he told public radio station Rai Uno, adding in another interview that cases were being discovered “because we are carrying out thousands of checks”.

EXPLAINED: How Italy is handling the coronavirus outbreak

The head of Italy’s civil protection department, Angelo Borrelli, told a news conference that 152 people had now tested positive for the virus in the country, including the three deceased.

The cancer patient had been hospitalised for a few days, said Lombardy’s health chief, Giulio Gallera. “She’d been tested and they already knew she had the coronavirus,” Gallera said, adding that it was too early to know whether the virus was the actual cause of death.

The deaths, and steadily rising number of cases of infected people, have prompted a series of security measures to try to check the spread of the contagion.

Eleven towns—10 in Lombardy and one in neighbouring Veneto—are under lockdown, with some 50,000 residents prohibited from leaving.

Regional authorities have ordered gathering spots, such as bars, restaurants and discos to close. Schools throughout the affected areas are to remain closed.

An Austrian train from Venice bound for Munich was stopped on Sunday on the Italian side of the Brenner Pass border crossing with Austria because of two possible cases, the Austrian interior ministry said.

It later announced that the passengers had tested negative and train services resumed.

Cultural fallout

The spread of the virus has disrupted high-profile events including Milan Fashion Week and the Venice Carnival while Serie A football matches were postponed. Operas have also had to be cancelled at Milan’s famed La Scala.

Most of the cases in Italy are in Lombardy, a prosperous region in the country’s north, and can be traced back to a 38-year-old man whom authorities have called “patient one”.

The man, who is intensive care, dined last month with another man who had visited China in January. He exhibited flu-like symptoms at the time of the dinner, but has since tested negative for the virus, media reports said.

Health officials are still puzzled over certain cases with no obvious links with infected persons.

“The rapid increase in reported cases in Italy over the past two days is of concern,” World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said on Sunday.

“What is also worrying is that not all reported cases seem to have clear epidemiological links, such as travel history to China or contact with a confirmed case,” he added.

Experts from WHO and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control plan to arrive in Italy on Tuesday, he said.

Conte’s government moved on Saturday to set up checkpoints in the region affected to ensure that nobody leaves the contaminated zone without special permission. Sunday saw police checking all vehicles travelling in and out of the area along Codogno’s main highway.

One police officer told AFP that “we’re going to quickly enforce a total blockade” and that those who had made it into the area in recent days would be unable to leave.

Conte has said that residents could face weeks of lockdown, enough time for any potential infection to incubate.

Tags: Boundaries and Borders, Globalisation, Health, Immigration and Politics, Law & Order, Pervasive Ecology, Population, World Affairs

Comments:

Posted by 5th person dies in Italy (all elderly so far) on Mon, 24 Feb 2020 12:38 | #

53m ago

11:39

A fifth person infected with the coronavirus has died in Italy, the chief of the civil protection agency has announced, according to Reuters.

Italian media reported that the dead patient was 88 and came from the region of Lombardy. The four other people who have died of the illness were also elderly and at least three of them had been suffering serious underlying health problems.

The Guardian, 24 Feb 2020:

Coronavirus: Iran disputes death toll in city of Qom – live updates

Health minister says 12 people have died and 66 been infected

- Iran denies cover-up after reports of 50 deaths

- China postpones National People’s Congress

Stock markets slide amid fears spread could hit growth

6m ago
12:28
Rachel Obordo Rachel Obordo
A translator from northern Italy has told the Guardian that the closure of schools and universities has left an eerie silence.

“It’s nice not having to deal with the morning traffic when I walk my dogs but the silence from the local primary school is eerie,” said Susanna from Treviso. “I did a spot of shopping for my elderly mum last night and the supermarket was busy, but the shelves were not as empty as others in the region.”

She is hoping to become a nature guide but the classes she has been attending have been cancelled until at least 1 March. “The virus doesn’t seem to pose more of a threat than seasonal flu, but it is forbidden to attend meetings and sports or cultural events. Defying the government’s lockdown measures might mean facing arrest or a hefty fine.

“I’m a member of the local cycling association and we were supposed to hold our monthly critical mass (when cyclists meet to ride through their local area) but this has been cancelled. This is especially upsetting as Treviso has a serious problem with air pollution and we had managed to involve school principals in our ride through town.”

21m ago
12:14
Rachel Obordo Rachel Obordo
In France, the government urged anyone who has visited Lombardy or Veneto – the two most affected regions in Italy – to wear face masks if they go outside, limit non-essential activities and take their temperatures twice a day.

The French health ministry issued the same advice for anyone who had traveled to China, South Korea, Singapore or Macao. France has had 12 cases of the virus overall, and one death.

The national health agency said officials were “evaluating the situation” of a bus of Italians, blocked in Lyon, which originated in Milan and stopped in Turin, but wouldn’t give details, or say whether anyone on the bus was suspected of having the virus.

Slovenia and Croatia, on the Italian border, which are popular destinations for Italian tourists and whose own citizens often travel to Italy, were holding crisis meetings Monday. Croatia announced it would monitor any travellers coming from Italy, including Croatian children returning from school trips.

The Romanian prime minister, Ludovic Orban, said anyone entering Romania from any region where the virus had been reported would be quarantined for 14 days, but local media reported that arriving passengers were only being asked to fill out a form.

In Albania, about 5,000 passengers arriving by plane, ferry and land were being monitored, with border crossing points targeting travellers from Italy in particular.

Fears spread to as far away as Mauritius, which blocked an Alitalia airplane that had landed. The Italian foreign ministry said it was working to provide maximum assistance to Italians on board. Many Italians are travelling this week for the mid-winter school holiday, and Mauritius is a popular destination.

1h ago
11:28
Germany will not be closing the country’s borders due to the coronavirus outbreak, a spokesman for the interior ministry said on Monday.

A spokeswoman for the foreign ministry said Germany was not issuing a travel warning for Italy but said it had updated its advice on travelling there, Reuters reports.

A health ministry spokesman said the danger to the German population from coronavirus remained low but warned the assessment could change at short notice.

Austria suspended train services over the Alps to Italy for about four hours late on Sunday before restarting them after two travellers tested negative for coronavirus. A train carrying about 300 passengers from Venice, Italy, to Munich in Germany was halted on the Italian side of the Brenner Pass before being allowed to continue its journey after the two tested negative, authorities said.

Updated at 11.55am GMT
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1h ago
11:09
Iraq detects first case of coronavirus
Iraq has detected its first case of coronavirus, the health ministry said on Monday.

Local health officials in the Iraqi Shia city of Najaf said an Iranian theology student was the first positive case of the virus, Reuters reports.

The patient had entered Iraq before the government shut border crossings and banned the entry of any non-Iraqis coming from Iran, the ministry said in a statement.

“It has become clear to the ministry that the results of lab tests conducted on a theology student, an Iranian citizen, who had entered the country before … the decision to stop travel have revealed he is ill with the coronavirus,” it said.

Updated at 11.56am GMT

2h ago
10:51

Iran’s government disputes report that 50 have died from the coronavirus.
Sam Jones

The Iranian government has denied trying to cover up the full extent of the coronavirus outbreak after reports suggested the death toll from the disease was more than four times higher than official figures claim.

On Monday, a lawmaker from Qom – a Shia holy city 75 miles (120km) south of the capital, Tehran, which has had a cluster of cases – accused Iran’s health minister of “lying” about the scale of the outbreak.

According to the semi-official ILNA news agency, which is close to reformists, the lawmaker, Ahmad Amirabadi Farahani, said there had been 50 deaths from the coronavirus in Qom alone.

“The rest of the media have not published this figure, but we prefer not to censor what concerns the coronavirus because people’s lives are in danger,” Fatemeh Madiani, the ILNA editor, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

But the country’s deputy health minister rejected the report. In a news conference broadcast live on state television, Iraj Harirchi said that 12 people had died from the coronavirus and 66 had been infected.

“I categorically deny this information,” said Iraj Harirchi. “This is not the time for political confrontations. The coronavirus is a national problem.”

Iran’s government pledged to be transparent about the outbreak.

Martin Chulov Martin Chulov
In the Middle East, concerns are mounting that Iran is now a major hub of the coronavirus, and that the virus may have taken hold on pilgrimage routes before its existence was known.

Authorities said 50 people have died in the Shia shrine city of Qom this month alone, up sharply from the 12 deaths reported among 47 cases nationwide. Deaths per reported infections were much higher in Iran compared with other countries, and that data reflected concerns that the extent of the virus had been significantly under-reported. Those fears appear to have been realised, and officials are rushing to contain a cluster – the spread of which would have serious implications for regional health.

A Shia seminary in Qom containing 250 people was quarantined on Monday, and the director of one of the city’s main hospitals was reported to have contracted the virus. Schools were closed across the country for a second day. While Qom appears to be the focal point of the cluster, there are also fears that nationwide polling for parliamentary elections over the weekend could have been another conduit to spread the virus. WHO said on Monday it had serious concerns about the situation in Iran.

One Lebanese pilgrim who tested positive for coronavirus after returning from Iran is in hospital in Beirut. Turkey has closed its borders to Iranian travellers.

Overriding these concerns though is the fate of hundreds of thousands of displaced people and refugees in Iraq and Syria, many of whom have already impaired immunities, less access to state healthcare and live in highly concentrated population groups. Small rooms containing infected people are thought to sharply increase mortality. Tents would likely have the same effect

Updated at 11.01am GMT

2h ago
10:16

Mongolia has halted all flights from South Korea and will block entry through its borders until 2 March as it steps up its efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Reuters reports.

The country’s national emergency commission announced the efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus on Monday. It has also already closed its schools until the end of March.

Mongolia had previously suspended all entries through its borders from China. A suspension of coal deliveries into China is scheduled to come to an end on 2 March.

Mongolia has not yet reported any confirmed cases of infection.

3h ago
10:00
In aan attempt to slow the worst flare-up of the disease outside of Asia, Italian authorities across the north have shut schools, universities, museums and cinemas for at least a week, and banned public gatherings including the famed Venice carnival, Reuters reports.

“To be honest, nobody thought the spread (of coronavirus) would be so aggressive. The illness is not serious, but it must not be underestimated,” Attilio Fontana, the regional governor of Lombardy, told 102.5 RTL radio.

Almost a dozen towns in Lombardy, with a combined population of nearly 50,000, have been placed under effective quarantine, with similar measures in place for a small town in neighbouring Veneto.

Fontana added that emergency measures imposed at the weekend would be effective and that “in a matter of days, the spread of the virus will regress”.

Posted by Jordan the Lion on Mon, 24 Feb 2020 12:50 | #

CARNIVAL of VENICE ITALY Costume Contest and Party - Jordan The Lion Travel Vlog (2/24/20)

Posted by 6th death, 11 north Italian towns under lockdown on Mon, 24 Feb 2020 20:29 | #

Guardian 24 Feb 2020:

Italian authorities are rushing to contain the continent’s first major outbreak of the disease after a sixth death in the country. Italy has so far recorded 219 confirmed cases, the most of any European country.

The Italian government has introduced stringent internal travel restrictions, closing off the worst-hit areas in the northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto. About 50,000 people in 11 north Italian towns have been under lockdown since Friday night, with police patrolling the streets and fines being imposed on anyone caught entering or leaving outbreak areas.

Posted by Corona at early stage pandemic on Tue, 25 Feb 2020 12:18 | #

Posted by 34 deaths in Italy; virus spreads to Czech on Mon, 02 Mar 2020 15:53 | #

Italy’s COVID-19 deaths rise to 34, world death toll passes 3,000

Posted by Corona Update 52 deaths in Italy now on Tue, 03 Mar 2020 08:04 | #

LIVE: Coronavirus death toll, infections and recoveries

Posted by Corona update 20 min ago: Poland, Argentina report on Wed, 04 Mar 2020 14:21 | #

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoqAqoJx1v8 - DW mentions Polish and Argentinian cases, along with 79 deaths now in Italy, but this report is mainly about the business impact of the virus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb5tNrZfJEI - the first reported Corona case is in Zielon Gora, that’s near the German border. In fact, he had been in Germany….

Posted by Italy: over 100 dead/Pakistani typhoid Mary on Thu, 05 Mar 2020 08:13 | #

Typhoid Mary: There has been a report that a Pakistaini who contracted the Corona virus in Iran or China, brought it back to Italy. Upon his return to Italy, the virus was detected and he was instructed to self quarantine, but did not follow directives and instead proceeded to his work as a delivery boy for a Chinese restaurant; thereby acting as a “Typhoid Mary”, spreading the disease in Northern Italy.

Posted by Corona Virus Pastries on Thu, 05 Mar 2020 18:17 | #

Corona Virus Pastries on offer at an Italian shop.

Posted by Italian deaths up to 233; Milan set for lockdown on Sun, 08 Mar 2020 07:38 | #

BREAKING NEWS: Coronavirus - Milan set for lockdown

The number of people who have died from Coronavirus has jumped by 36 since yesterday. The figure now stands at 233.

Posted by Survival Lilly on Mon, 09 Mar 2020 06:19 | #

Thugs stealing disinfectants in Austrian hospitals

Some thoughtful remarks on dealing with cornonavirus from Austria’s “Survival Lilly.”

Posted by Chloroquine & Zinc on Tue, 10 Mar 2020 19:13 | #

Chloroquine & Zinc

Posted by Another day of record fatalities in Italy, 919 on Sat, 28 Mar 2020 07:05 | #

Another day of record corona fatalities in Italy, 919, bringing the total to 9,134