Italy battles to enforce nationwide lockdown

Chinese support

Giorgio Gori, the mayor of Bergamo, a city in Lombardy, told RAI state television that people needed to finally grasp the seriousness of the situation.

"Until a few days ago, the thinking was that the alarm would pass in some weeks, and we just need to follow the rules," he said. "Now, we need to explain to citizens that the situation is very, very serious and our hospitals are on the point of collapse."

To show their support for Italians and help ease the strain, Chinese living in Naples handed out 6,000 free face masks and donated protective clothing and gloves to hospitals and outbreak management offices. Local media reported the group handing out masks on one street included anti-racism advocates and members of a Chinese community association.

However, while many people are observing the new restrictions, others are not, with resentment surfacing on the day they were introduced.

Rioting broke out at 27 prisons after inmates heard that family members and friends were being banned from visiting them as part of the attempt to contain the virus.

Sixty inmates at a prison in Modena rioted in an incident that left seven people dead. The prisoners reportedly started a fire and many of them took drugs looted from the facility's infirmary, the Corriere de Bologna newspaper reported.

The Italian Justice Ministry said: "The protests concerned the coronavirus emergency, as well as the measures issued by the government to reduce the risk of infection and protect those who live and work within the prison."

The authorities quelled the riots and re-established order, but the government acknowledged that its lockdowns, closures and travel restrictions equated to "massive shock therapy".

In addition to personal inconvenience, it said there would be a huge impact on the nation's economy.

Conte said the government would plow capital into the economy in an attempt to mitigate the damage caused to industry and to tourism.

The UK is among nations advising against travel to Italy, except in any emergency. The Foreign Office said in a statement, "The safety of British nationals is always our number one priority."

Similar steps have been taken by other countries, including Austria and Switzerland.

British Airways has suspended flights to Italy until April 3, and other carriers have also stopped flying to the country. People arriving in the UK from Italy are being told to self-isolate for 14 days.

Italian tourism representatives know the virus will have an unprecedented impact on the vibrant holiday industry, acknowledging late last month that 200 million euros ($226 million) of bookings have been canceled as a result of the outbreak.

Market uncertainty saw Italian stocks fall significantly this week, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.

Economists have little doubt that the Italian economy, which has been weak for years, will go into full recession as a result of the outbreak.

The nation's Finance and Economy Ministry said in a statement this week that core sectors of the economy and government offices will remain open for business regardless of the state of the outbreak. However, it warned that the nationwide lockdown would impact sectors including transportation, accommodations, food, drink and entertainment.

"A temporary downturn in some sectors or areas of the country is preferable to a longer crisis that could spread to the whole economy," the ministry said in a statement.

On Tuesday, it said it would raise its stimulus package of 7.5 billion euros to 10 billion euros, in a bid to mitigate the damage.

Meanwhile, Sky News reported doctors' concerns over the strain of the virus spreading in Italy, where about 6 percent of confirmed infections have resulted in death, compared with a global fatality rate of between 1 percent and 3 percent.

The broadcaster said this could be due to Italy testing more people than other nations and therefore uncovering more infections, or it might be an indication that infection has been established in the country far longer than previously thought.

Giovanni Rezza, who leads the Infectious Diseases Department at Italy's National Institutes of Health, said the high mortality rate could also be due to the country having a much older-than-average population.