Name: Several cities in Northern Italy on lockdown l ABC News
Uploaded: 2020-03-11T09:30:55.000Z
Duration: 4 min 29 s
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Past simple

James Long been joins us now from Milan, several towns in northern Italy locked down.

But unlike Asia, Europe has open borders.

We've already heard about that new case in Spain.

A traveler from Italy testing positive there a hotel locked down in travel restrictions, even work in Europe.

Well, that's a brilliant question, Lindsay.

And that's exactly what health officials were talking about today.

It remember Italy borders six other countries, so Ah, lot of European countries really worried about the spread.

The focus here in Italy is on these 12 towns, about 30 miles from where I am now.

Real effort to try to lock down the virus there.

But it hasn't worked because it's got out.

It's an invisible enemy, and it's traveling.

They're linked to this part of northern Italy, Switzerland as well.

A number of other countries, like I said, Spain as well.

We know there's a case, but also on the Canary Islands.

There's a hotel there that a on Italian doctor visited, then tested positive for the virus is now going into quarantine.

They've all been told they've got a lock down in that building that little notes were passed underneath each of their doors to tell them to stay in their rooms and wait to be tested.

So you could just see how this kind of colonel of infection here in Italy can spread so quickly.

Thes health officials today said it wasn't helpful to talk about closing borders.

You can just imagine the level of panic that that would send people into, I think, across Europe if people did decide to do that.

But it's a really difficult thing to stop the spread off because, like I said, it is an invisible enemy, certain certain parts of Italy or taking other precautions.

We now know in the last few hours we've heard from Syracuse University in United States, has a study abroad program here.

Students in Florence and I are gonna be heading back to the United States because they're worried.

Theme contagion does seem quite powerful.

So because of the kind of total unpredictable unpredictability, if you like of this illness, I think it's left a lot of people on edge on just not sure kind of how to go about their daily lives.

But, yeah, this question of this kind of illness spreading around Europe, it's a big one right now.

We've certainly seen images of stores being cleared out.

How concerned do you see people with that palpable panic that we've seen similar images of in China?

I think the people who are really panicked are staying home.

And I think what we've seen here in Milan is a city which is much, much quieter than it should be.

Schools, libraries, universities, authorities are locking down these public spaces, saying, Stay away from these places.

It's a really difficult thing to try to manage because there's no there's no kind of there's no cure for it.

So what you could do is say to people, stay away.

We've heard that a lot of supermarkets, especially inside that zone that has been blocked off the shelves, have been cleared from there.

But I think a lot of people are kind of taking in their stride, not really sure, quite how to kind of manage the risks.

Some people say they should wear a mask because you know it makes them feel safer.

But actually the kind of medical kind of one of that's appropriate.

We've seen other countries kind of take other measures.

So for Neck, for example, in the United Kingdom they're asking people to take themselves off into kind of self imposed quarantine.

So wth E government is not telling people to stay at home.

But they're asking if they could, they should.

There are certain schools that have now said to the peoples to stay away.

It was, ah, holiday for a lot of schoolchildren across Europe.

So you can just imagine the amount of travel that there's been over the last 10 days or so and the United Kingdom now schools are saying to any kids who went on holiday skiing baps in Italy stay home.

So a lot of ways to try to manage this, but no one quite sure exactly the right way to do it and James were just learning as we're talking to you right now.

There's actually two confirmed cases in Spain in that location, that resort town, the Italian doctor and his wife.

So, of course, these numbers just continue to update all the time.

But, James, thank you so much for that report in Italy for us.

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