Italy’s government early Sunday took the extraordinary step of locking down much of the country’s north, restricting the movement for about a quarter of the population (16 million) in regions that serve as the country’s economic engine.
The move represents the most sweeping effort outside China to stop the spread of the coronavirus, and is tantamount to sacrificing the Italian economy in the short term to save it from the ravages of the virus in the long term. By taking such tough measures, Italy, which is suffering the worst outbreak in Europe, sent a signal that restrictive clampdowns at odds with some of the core values of western democracies may be necessary to contain and defeat the virus.
“We are facing an emergency,” Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said in announcing the governme
