Quarantined Italians must stay a metre apart in public

Officers force people to separate, even in cafes, and stop rail travellers as country struggles under lockdown

ITALIAN police yesterday forced citizens to stand at least a metre apart as the government stepped up enforcement of its country-wide quarantine.

The Carabinieri, the country’s military police force, patrolled shops and cafés to separate people in the hope of preventing the spread of the coronavirus, as Italy recorded its highest daily death toll of 168.

Social-distancing measures aim to stop people spreading the virus by stopping them from coughing or breathing on each other.

Police in Rome stopped members of the public at railway stations to ask if they had a valid reason to leave the city, while officers on the streets encouraged citizens to stay inside.

“[Police] asked me where I was going. I showed them my fruit and vegetables and they let me go home,” one Roman citizen, who asked not to be named, told The Daily Telegraph.

The overall death rate from the virus in Italy is now estimated at a surprisingly high 6 per cent, with more than 10,000 confirmed infections. There are fears that the health system has been overwhelmed by predominantly elderly patients.

Italy’s foreign minister said the country was going through difficult times but would demonstrate to the world that it would never give up.

“Italians have always had the strength to start again, even in moments of difficulty,” said Luigi di Maio.

“Because Italy is a country that never gives up. Let’s show the world that. Let’s show everyone.”

Yesterday, authorities were deployed across the country for the start of an unprecedented lockdown on travel, socialising and daily life.

“On Monday, there was a feeling this is no big deal. But now people are on a war footing,” said Jonny Hassid, a British businessman in the capital.

On Monday night, Giuseppe Conte, the prime minister, banned residents from travelling around the country without a certifiable health or work emergency. Swimming pools, gyms and sports centres were ordered to close.

Anyone who invents a reason to break the quarantine faces a potential three-month prison sentence.

However, the northern region of Lombardy, one of the first areas to be quarantined, called on the government to introduce even more stringent measures.

“I would shut down all the shops, I would certainly close down public transport, and I would seek out all businesses that could be shut without creating excessive damage to the economy,” said Attilio Fontana, the president of the region.

While Lombardy accounts for 74 per cent of Italian fatalities, the disease has now reached all of the country.

Traffic was notably lighter in every region. Citizens appeared to be following the new regulations after widespread criticism of quarantine-breakers during the smaller lockdown of the northern regions over the weekend.

In Sicily, about 50 people faced fines for taking part in a funeral procession, circumventing the order to postpone all funerals and weddings until at least April 3.

In Rome, people desperately hoped that the outbreak will not be as bad as in the north. Queuing outside a butcher’s shop in the city, an elderly woman said: “We’re protected by the Vatican and by the sunshine. They don’t have either of those in Milan.”

But there were fears the infection

‘Italians have always had the strength to start again in moments of difficulty. Because Italy never gives up’

‘This will put great strain on Italy, but it is better to take those bold measures now to protect people’

could be spreading, after a reported 20,000 people in the north flouted the travel ban and fled south on trains which were described by one expert as “biological bombs”.

Giovanni Rezza, the head of infectious diseases at the Italian Higher Institute of Health, told La

Repubblica newspaper: “Inside those trains are people coming from the north, the region worst affected by the virus.”

The lockdown threatens to cripple businesses across the country, both large and small.

In Rome, a taxi driver said there were so few tourists that she had made just €18 all day.

With the country likely to be tipped into recession, the government has announced that mortgage and other payments will be suspended.

Stefano Patuanelli, the industry minister, said the government planned to suspend payments of bills, taxes and mortgages in order to ease pressure on small firms and households.

The EU yesterday praised the Italian government for taking “bold action” against the coronavirus.

“We know that they will put a great strain on the Italian people, but it’s better to take those bold measures now to protect as many people as possible,” said Valdis Dombrovskis, the European Commission’s executive vice president.