Spotlight: Measures to curb spread of COVID-19 gradually taken as anxiety simmers

Giovanni, an Italian resident in the city Milan under lockdown due to the COVID-19 epidemic, said he had never expected his life to be like this.

"It feels like the virus is everywhere, in a bar, on any object. I am afraid to do everything, such as shopping. I am also afraid to touch my car, (because) maybe someone has infected it," he said, complaining about being unable to take his children outdoors as "everything is closed."

In fact, since February, supermarkets in many European countries have seen higher demands for basic goods such as face masks, disinfectants, canned food and pasta as the COVID-19 anxiety simmers. Some people, who have spoken to Xinhua, admitted that they are engaged in panic buying because they are afraid of spending weeks at home in quarantine once the epidemic gets more serious.

TOUGH MEASURES

Italy has been the worst-hit country by COVID-19 in Europe, with a total of 9,172 cases and 463 deaths as of Monday. To curb the spread of the virus, the government started to take tough measures since Sunday.

"All movements will be restricted across the entire country, but for those justified by three specific reasons: provable work reason, emergency cases, and health needs," Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told a televised press conference on Monday.

"There will be no more red zones and free zones ... There will be only one Italy, as entirely protected (area)," said the prime minister, adding that the new rules are to be included in a decree that will enter into force by Tuesday, and stay in force at least up to April 3.

Museums, theaters, cinemas, night clubs, places of worship, ski resorts and other attractions are closed. Restaurants and bars can still be open -- only if they can guarantee at least one meter space between each guest -- and the open hours will be limited from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

"We understand that these measures will impose sacrifices, sometimes small and sometimes very big. But this is a time when we must take responsibility ... We need to understand that all of us need to adhere to the measures," said Conte.

A POSSIBLE PANDEMIC

A total of 109,578 cases have been reported worldwide as of 10:00 CET Monday, up by 3,994 cases from the previous day, according to the daily report released by the World Health Organization (WHO) Monday evening.

Of the 3,994 new infections, 3,949 are outside China. Of the 28,674 confirmed cases outside China, 686 people have died, which marked an increase of 202 deaths from a day earlier.

Apart from Italy, France, Germany and Spain have reported more than 1,000 cases. Throughout the entire European continent, some 15,000 cases have been confirmed in about 40 countries.

Across the Atlantic Ocean, the United States has to deal with the thorny situation of the Grand Princess cruise ship that carries thousands of people including 21 coronavirus patients, which docked at the Port of Oakland Monday after being held off at sea for days. The passengers will disembark in the following days and the crew members will remain quarantined on board the ship.

In other parts of the world, Bangladesh, Albania and Paraguay have reported cases of COVID-19 for the first time in the past 24 hours as of Monday morning, bringing the total number of countries and regions affected by the coronavirus to 104. Five more countries -- Bangladesh, Bahrain, Iraq, Chile and Costa Rica -- have seen local transmission of the virus, bringing to 58 the number of countries and regions where local transmission emerged.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on Monday that the threat of a pandemic has become "very real."

EFFECTIVE ACTIONS URGED

"It's certainly troubling that so many people and countries have been affected, so quickly," said the WHO chief. "The bottom line is: we are not at the mercy of this virus."

The WHO chief underlined that with decisive and early action, the virus can be slowed down and infections prevented, and most of those who are infected will recover.

"This is an uneven epidemic at the global level. Different countries are in different scenarios, requiring a tailored response. It's not about containment or mitigation -- which is a false dichotomy. It's about both," he said.

The WHO has provided COVID-19 guidance for countries in four categories: those with no cases, those with sporadic cases, those with clusters, and those with community transmission. For the first three categories, countries must focus on finding, testing, treating and isolating individual cases, and following their contacts.

As for those with community spread where testing every suspected case and tracing their contacts becomes more challenging, the WHO has urged action to prevent transmission at the community level to reduce the epidemic to manageable clusters.

"For all countries, the aim is the same: stop transmission and prevent the spread of the virus," Tedros said.

He also encouraged Italy to take aggressive measures to contain the epidemic. "The rule of the game is: never give up."