How did this 38-year-old man, hospitalized in intensive care for several days and identified as probably "patient 1", contract the virus? This is the question that the Italian health authorities are trying to answer, confronted since this Friday with a very strong increase in the rate of contamination with coronavirus in the north of the country.
This man, confined and treated since Wednesday in Codogno, a small town near Lodi, 60 km from Milan (in Lombardy) is a researcher working for the American multinational Unilever. Other cases detected were in direct contact with this "patient 1", his eight-month pregnant wife, a friend with whom he played sports and three regulars at a local bar as well as doctors, nursing assistants, and patients from Codogno hospital who in turn infected those around them.
"The Lodi area is the epicenter of the outbreak," announced regional health assistant Giulio Gallera, without knowing, for the moment, with whom this man may have been infected. The hypothesis of an infection via a friend with whom he had dinner several times at the restaurant, and who had returned from China in January having been tested negative for the coronavirus since then, remains the most plausible.
Drastic measures to limit the spread
Knowing precisely the origin of the sudden surge in cases of contamination in this Italian region is essential for health authorities. The first two fatal cases of Italian nationals - and Europeans - have been recorded in recent days in this region of Lombardy. The first victim is a 78-year-old retired mason living in a small village in Veneto, the second a 77-year-old woman living in the Codogno area of Lombardy.
Attilio Fontana, the president of Lombardy, announced on Saturday 39 cases in his region and clarified during a press conference to be "awaiting a government decision for the use of at least one of the two military structures in Baggio or Piacenza ”to place quarantine at risk.
Several drastic measures have already been taken to limit the spread of the virus as much as possible. A dozen cities have closed public places such as bars, restaurants, libraries, schools, churches, as well as numerous shops and around 40 stadiums and sports halls. Carnival parades have also been canceled.
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VIDEO. Coronavirus: deserted streets in northern Italy
Head of government Giuseppe Conte is now considering other "extraordinary measures", in addition to the semi-containment of more than 50,000 people already decided, while the peninsula is now the country most affected in Europe by the epidemic of pneumonia viral.