COVID-19 lockdowns in Italy
On 9 March 2020, the government of Italy under Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte imposed a national lockdown or quarantine, restricting the movement of the population except for necessity, work, and health circumstances, in response to the growing pandemic of COVID-19 in the country. Additional lockdown restrictions mandated the temporary closure of non-essential shops and businesses. This followed a restriction announced on the previous day which affected sixteen million people in the whole region of Lombardy and in fourteen largely-neighbouring provinces in Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Piedmont and Marche, and prior to that a smaller-scale lockdown of ten municipalities in the province of Lodi and one in the province of Padua that had begun in late February.
COVID-19 lockdown in Italy
9 March 2020 – 18 May 2020[a]
(2 months, 1 week and 2 days)
San Marino
Vatican City
containing the outbreak of COVID-19 in Italy
- ban of non-essential travel
- limitation of free movement, except in cases of necessity
- ban of public events
- closure of commercial and retail businesses, except essential goods sellers and banks
- suspension of teaching in schools and universities
- under-surveillance quarantine of infected persons
- shutdown of all non-essential businesses and industries (23 March–3 May)
about 60 million people quarantined (Italian population)
The lockdown measures, despite being widely approved by the public opinion,[1] were also described as the largest suppression of constitutional rights in the history of the republic.[2] Nevertheless, Article 16 of the Constitution states that travel restrictions may be established by law for reasons of health or security.[3]
Italy was the first country to enact a COVID-19 lockdown nationwide;[4] many countries would introduce similar measures in subsequent months the COVID-19 pandemic spread globally.
Reactions[edit]
Domestic[edit]
Both Attilio Fontana, the President of Lombardy, and Luca Zaia, the President of Veneto, criticised the quarantine measures, with Fontana requesting better clarification regarding the quarantine from the central government, while Zaia opposed it altogether.[61] President of Emilia-Romagna Stefano Bonaccini called the decree "confusing" and requested the central government take more time to develop a "coherent" solution.[62] Maurizio Rasero, mayor of the quarantined municipality of Asti, posted a video on his Facebook page complaining about the sudden announcement of the quarantine, of which he had not been informed beforehand.[63] The decree was also criticised by local business leaders, who claimed that the decree did not have sufficient clarifications on the details of the quarantine.[64] Matteo Salvini, Italy's opposition leader, also demanded further clarity regarding the lockdown.[65]
On the other hand, Novara's mayor Alessandro Canelli mentioned that he was surprised by the initial information he received that his province would not be part of the quarantine zone, and had requested for Novara's inclusion due to its significant transport links with Milan.[66] President of Marche Luca Ceriscioli agreed to the measures, although he mentioned a need for more participation from the impacted territories.[67]
Responding to the thousands of people who evacuated from Lombardy just before the 8 March quarantine was put in place, police officers and medics met passengers from Lombardy in Salerno, Campania, and the passengers were required to self-quarantine. Michele Emiliano, President of Apulia, required all arrivals from northern Italy to self-quarantine.[22] Similarly, Jole Santelli, President of Calabria, called for Calabrians living in northern Italy not to return home during the outbreak, and for the government to "block an exodus to Calabria".[49]
Conte, alongside other leaders, requested Italians to avoid engaging in "furbizia"—i.e. craftiness to circumvent rules and bureaucracy—during the lockdown.[65] Conte also told la Repubblica that Italy was facing its "darkest hour".[68]