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| Italian Virologist: Fear of Being Falsely Called Racist Led to Italy's Wuhan Coronavirus Crisis |
| 2020-03-23 |
| [LI] As I write this, Italy has 47,021 active cases of the Wuhan Coronavirus. 5,129 have recovered. 4,032 have died. That’s 800 more than China (assuming their numbers are correct), and the number is certain to grow. The situation has become so dire that there are reports healthcare workers in Lombardy, one of the hardest hit areas, have simply stopped counting the bodies. There were 627 recorded deaths Friday, their biggest day-to-day rise since the outbreak started. These are very sobering statistics, especially when you consider a little over a month ago, videos were being circulated on social media of Italians going about their daily lives, of the tourist circuit bustling, of markets being full of shoppers, and the like. This was all happening even as the Wuhan Coronavirus was known to be spreading, because Italy had not yet called for social distancing or any other type of related measures at the time that might have helped stopped the spread. Those on the outside looking in and who had read reports about the outbreak watched in disbelief as local officials like Florence Mayor Dario Nardella were telling Italians to "hug a Chinese." It was a patronizing virtue signal to show Italy’s Asian population support, and to prove to the world that Italy wasn’t "racist" after reports of alleged "xenophobic incidents" against Chinese people in Italy as a result of their China travel ban: |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #4 in a 2008 trip to Italy, my duaghter sought out a leather shop in Rome we had read about in the Chicago Tribune. A 3rd gen granddaughter had apprenticed and took over the family shop of leather goods they made themselves. I bought a belt from her that she made in front of me, from measure to completion, for around $40 USD. I knew it was "made in Italy" because I watched it being made. In 2015, in a hoity toity marketplace in Sorrento, I pulled a belt off the rack that said "Made in Italy" that cost about $18..."A great buy!" I declared to my kids. I now understand the price difference. |
| Posted by: Capsu78 2020-03-23 18:49 |
| #3 We don't hear much about Chinese sweatshops in Italy. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2020-03-23 14:41 |
| #2 Thanks for that bit of information EC. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2020-03-23 09:00 |
| #1 Last year 120 people died in the small city of Nembro (pop. 12,000), near Bergamo in Lombardy, ten per month. Now, 70 people have died in just 12 days. Very interesting to read up on this. Most likely the virus started to hit in early January already, maybe even at Christmas. The number of people suffering (and dying) from severe pneumonia shot up, but nobody knew about the virus. On February 20th, all Italy had only 4 confirmed cases. This explains the exploding numbers now. The virus had more time to spread undetected, and only severe cases were tested in February. I'm convinced that the virus started spreading earlier in China than reported. |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2020-03-23 08:58 |