By Emily Zanotti
Italy’s rate of coronavirus infections has finally slowed, but the national lockdown that helped slow the spread of the disease is now threatening to take its own toll as Italy’s poorer regions begin to push back against government regulations keeping them from working.
The “depressed south” is “turning into a powderkeg,” according to Bloomberg world news, and the Italian government is now prepared to take efforts to control the possible spread of violence.
“Police have been deployed on the streets of Sicily’s capital, Palermo, amid reports gangs are using social media to plot attacks on stores,” the outlet reported Tuesday. “A bankrupt ferry company halted service to the island, including vital supplies of food and medicines. As the state creaks under the strain of the coronavirus pandemic, officials worry the mafia may be preparing to step in.”
“Preventing unrest in the so-called Mezzogiorno, the underdeveloped southern region that’s long lagged behind the wealthy north, has become the government’s top priority,” Bloomberg added.
Italy is now on its fourth week of national lockdown, though some regions — like heavily affected Lombardy — have been under strict orders to shelter in place since late February, when the coronavirus first began to take hold. Italy has had more than 100,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus and around 11,000 deaths, but the rates have been steadily declining for nearly a week. In the last three days, Italy has seen a marked decline in infections, leading some to believe the end is finally near for the coroanvirus-ravaged country.
full story at https://www.dailywire.com/news/italy-threatening-to-erupt-into-riots-as-nationwide-lockdown-takes-economic-toll