Inside Zorlesco, the town of Italy quarantined by the Covid-19 epidemic, Tina Pomati languished waiting for her daughter to put things into the "red zone" she was trapped in.

"Did you buy focaccia bread?" Pomati talked to her daughter Alessandra Paladini over the phone and received an answer saying she was about to arrive. A few minutes later, Paladini carried a paper bag full of cigarettes, sausages, chocolates and parked in front of the checkpoint outside the town of Zorlesco in Lombardy, northern Italy, which was heavily guarded.

Across the border, Pomati was waiting eagerly for her son next to the policemen wearing white masks and white gloves. They quickly grabbed Paladini's bag and handed it to the 65-year-old woman. Mother and son kiss the wind before saying goodbye.

The town of Zorlesco is among a number of blockaded localities in northern Italy, where 888 cases of nCoV have been recorded and 21 have died. To prevent the virus from spreading, authorities have taken drastic measures, such as testing and quarantining both people with and without symptoms. 11 towns, including more than 50,000 people are in blockade.

However, the consequences of these measures are divided families, business losses, and at the same time feeling the government is sacrificing the few to protect the plural, while some countries in the world. also trying to protect himself from Italy, which is now the fourth-largest Covid-19 outbreak in the world after mainland China, South Korea and the Diamond Princess.

"They sacrificed us," said Monica Grandi. The 33-year-old woman was a meat butcher shop outside the quarantine area, but is now trapped inside with her family. She felt like the country was treating them like patients who needed to be marginalized. "It's ridiculous that the town right next to you, just throwing rocks, will not be blocked. Why us and not them?", Grandi said.

The Lombardy government said if the virus spread, with each patient passing the virus on to two others, hospitals would be "in serious crisis". The extensive testing policy helps identify many asymptomatic cases, but it also puts pressure on the health system. Doctors lack masks and gloves, all surgeries and non-emergency medical tests are delayed.

In recent days, however, the Italian government appears to be seeking to downplay the severity of the Covid-19 epidemic by blaming the press, saying that the nCoV affects only a small part of the population. Rome health officials also noted that extensive testing violates international guidelines, whereby tests should be done only for symptomatic persons. The Lombardy region then followed this principle.

Blocked residents inside the quarantine area think that the decision to stop testing people without symptoms will make the situation even worse. "They abandoned us here and infect each other," Michela Torresani, 36, said, adding that growing suspicion and anxiety led her to avoid contact with both her parents because of this. potential "risk".

The Italian economy also cannot escape the impact of the disease. Millions of tourists have canceled their schedules to Italy, while many countries also recommend citizens to consider coming here. Bank of Italy Governor Ignazio Visco estimated that Covid-19 would cause a GDP decline of about 0.2%.

The Lombardy region is the industrial center of Italy, with about 3,000 businesses located in the delta around the blockaded towns. Sabrina Baronio, head of the local business organization, said the daily blockade caused a loss of 50 million euros (over $ 55 million) to the region's economy.

She criticized the government for treating Lombardy as a "lab mouse" and this should not be applied anywhere else. "There may not be many people who die of nCoV, and we will have to prepare 'funerals' for companies," Baronio said.

On the evening of February 28, the Italian government announced a new measure, combining tax breaks and other support, to stabilize the local economy. However, businesses said the situation was inherently worse because of the blockade.

"This is a major disaster," said Taylan Arslan, who just opened a meat factory on February 24. 57 of his employees could not reach the warehouse due to the blockade. Arslan estimated that in the past 5 days, he lost 12,000 euros a day (more than 13,000 USD).

Experts are also concerned about the effectiveness of the quarantine measures to prevent the virus from spreading outside, while ambulances are still going in and out of the blockade areas. "If you continue to allow an ambulance in and out of blockaded towns, the virus can still spread," said Massimo Vajani, president of the Lodi City Medical Association.

At the checkpoint in the town of Zorlesco, 54-year-old resident Marco Ausonio told police that his washing machine was broken, then handed a bag of clothes to them to deliver to his brother, who came from the area. blockade. Experts at the World Health Organization assess the risk of laundry is quite small, but it will be higher if they belong to a person infected with the virus.

Massimo Andreoni, an expert at the Tor Vergata University in Rome, also said the risk of spreading the disease is almost zero, but added that "people living in isolated areas probably should not exchange furniture. with someone outside ".

However, the shortage of grocery items makes some people living in the town of Zorlesco still have to order from the supermarket outside. Driver Secrieru Veaceslav was the carrier, but when he arrived at the checkpoint, his fear of disease made him decide to stop and turn around. "I won't go inside there," Veaceslav said.

Liberty Bar, a drink shop in the town of Secugnago, just over a kilometer from the checkpoint, now becomes a selling point after the nearby cigarette shop is closed, because its owner is a resident in an isolated area. glass.

Inside the bar, customers debate the spread of nCoV and wonder if the threat is exaggerated. Outside, a group of people gathered and laughed about how the media could not pronounce their town's name correctly. No one is wearing a mask.

Maurizio Pedrinazzi, a street cleaning worker, said it was absurd that their town could live comfortably while Zorlesco was still close to the wall. According to the 60-year-old man, if the virus spread so quickly, it was likely that "everyone was infected".

Pedrinazzi also revealed that people from Zorlesco town often come here to drink water despite the blockade. "They know all the roads and the shortcuts. They all come here," he said.

In fact, the travel control is not as tight as it looks. A woman in a track suit blocked at the checkpoint said she wanted to return to the quarantine area after a morning walk. "Do you know the rules?", The police asked questions before meeting the requirements.

"When you can't get something, you want to get it more," said Alessandra Paladini, after passing her mother's bag to the checkpoint.