Covid-19: Lessons From Italy
FRONTLINE|April 10, 2020
For a variety of reasons, Italy failed to contain the initial surge of the pandemic. Its advanced health care network is its only solace; the focus is now on management rather than prevention.
Dr Sai Prasath J.
Covid-19: Lessons From Italy

“Europe is now the epicentre”: World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared in Geneva on March 13, as confirmed cases of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection rose in Italy and the virus spread to all European Union (E.U.) countries.

On March 20, Italy reported 5,900-odd fresh cases and 627 deaths, the highest daily tally of mortality reported from anywhere in the world. The total number of cases in Italy had crossed 40,000 and deaths 4,000, overtaking the death toll in China. The authorities were caught unawares. Ironically, just as the Olympic torch was being lit in Athens, there was a blaze of COVID-19 in Italy.

As the centre of gravity of the unprecedented pandemic shifts decisively westward, it is pertinent to ask: Why Italy?

Europe, after the tumult of two World Wars, had embarked on the road to recovery through mutual cooperation, exemplified by the Maastricht Treaty in 1993, which established it as a union of constituent nations, a borderless region to facilitate trade and the free movement of people. The union, reinforced by the post-War emphasis on welfare, led to the western side of the continent establishing some of the most advanced health care systems, which resulted in the high life expectancy rates seen now. Indeed, death rates exceeded birth rates, putting the population in a state of decline where the net replacement rate was less than one. Thus, Europe aged, even as it became relatively wealthy.

Italy’s famed Colosseum and other attractions drew millions of tourists each year, making the country the fifth most popular tourist destination. An open border meant that the incoming tourist could travel anywhere in Europe. Perhaps these factors, that is, an ageing population, a high rate of internal migration, and a constant flow of tourists proved to be its undoing when the pandemic came knocking at its door.

This story is from the April 10, 2020 edition of FRONTLINE.

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This story is from the April 10, 2020 edition of FRONTLINE.

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