As of February 26, at least 322 cases have been confirmed positive and 11 deaths from COVID-19 in Italy. Immediately, the Italian government has been implementing many measures to prevent the epidemic such as blocking off, isolating, and closing crowded places, especially in the areas at the center of the Lombardy and Veneto epidemics (near Milan).
People in many places have flocked to supermarkets and stores to buy food, masks, hand sanitizer and many other goods for fear of COVID-19. Many prices for immediately-ordered Italian noodles, cookies, plain boxes, pharmacies with out-of-msks, hand sanitizer, and disinfectants.
"Instead of dumping food stores, we should pay attention to protecting people at high risk of infection, such as the elderly," Milan Mayor Beppe Sala advised.
Mayor Lombardy Attilio Fontana called on people to stay calm because "going shopping and storing things is meaningless while there will be enough for everyone in the beginning and end".
In Rome, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said he believes that strict precautions taken around infection clusters will be effective.
A group of health experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Centers for Disease Control and Prevention arrived in Italy on February 24 to support local authorities.
WHO said it was very concerned about the rapid increase in positive cases in Italy. However, according to statistics, most cases positive for COVID-19 currently have mild symptoms.
