Coronavirus lockdown in Italy causes terrified Brits to blast chaotic hospitals for putting healthy people at risk – The Sun

TERRIFIED Brits caught in the Italian coronavirus lockdown have spoken of their fear as panic gripped the country.

Fourteen people have died and more than 500 have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in Italy, which has the third largest number of coronavirus cases after China and South Korea.

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Health secretary Matt Hancock said he “wasn’t aware” of any Brits trapped in the eleven locked down Italian towns, but The Sun managed to find two inside the so-called “red zone”.

Among them was teacher Carol Young, originally from Basingstoke, Hampshire, who lives in Codogno – where the virus started its spread across the country.

She told The Sun: “It is very worrying. We are at our wits ends. We are following the guidelines but every day you hear about new cases and new deaths.”

Ms Young also said the hospital close to where she lives is believed to be “the starting point for the virus,” and that facilities “could have handled it better.”

She added: “They turned away a man three times when he quite clearly had the virus and he infected loads of other people including doctors and his own wife and father.”

Ms Young described the state of panic in the locked down town, saying there are no face masks or hand gels left on shelves in chemists, with people seen queuing to buy food.

She said: “It’s not an ideal situation at all to be in and now I hear someone in the UK has tested positive after coming back from Italy.”

“I would love to know where they got it as we and the other ten towns are all in lockdown.”

“Maybe the UK should start taking the temperature of people when they arrive at the airports as they do in Italy.”

Classic car restorer Brian Berni, 37, who is from Cardiff, Wales, and lives in Codogno with his wife and five month son also told of his fears.

Mr Berni said: “The situation here is a bit surreal.”

“Codogno is usually a lively place with bars and restaurants and people out and about walking and shopping but now it’s dead.”

Mr Berni went on to describe the area as a “ghost town”, adding the only time he sees other members of the public is “in the supermarkets where there are queues, and the chemist where it’s the same story.”

He added: “People are worried and they are stocking up on food and medicine, and there has been some panic buying in the next door town of Casalpusterlengo.”

Mr Berni went on to reveal there had been a brawl in supermarket Lidl, where stocks were running low and fear was mounting.

He said: “All the masks and gels have run out and we have just one for us, which I wear when I go to the shops. I won’t let my wife and son out at all to be safe.”

Mr Berni said due to the police lockdown, he has been unable to drive to the neighbouring village to visit his father, who is also Welsh.

He explained: “Initially people from locked down places could go to other locked down places but that’s now stopped.”

While Mr Berni admits he is worried, he is hoping that by following the orders of authorities “it all goes away soon.”

Police and troops were yesterday manning roadblocks to ten towns in the north of Italy near Milan dubbed a “red zone” with more than 50,000 people under lockdown.

The Sun watched as one woman on a push bike was turned away from a checkpoint for not wearing a mask on the outskirts of the quarantined area.

Meanwhile officers also revealed they had arrested five people who had broken out of Codogno and walked across fields to get out of the red zone.

They were taken back to the town and warned they faced prosecution if they were caught again.

As a precaution the government in Rome has closed schools, offices, shops, churches and five top Series A football matches this weekend will be played behind closed doors.

Is my holiday affected by Coronavirus?

If you've booked a package holiday then you can ask your travel firm to cancel it – but you may have to pay a fee.

You can also ask them to transfer it to an alternative destination or change the dates.

It's highly unlikely that they will let you cancel it unless you're travelling to a destination that has been affected by coronavirus and is deemed a no-go destination by the Foreign Office, but you should ask.

Until now, the only areas in Europe that the FCO has issued this advice for are the 10 towns in Northern Italy that have been isolated due to the outbreak – click here to find out more.
The change in advice only means those on package holidays are given some level of protection though, anyone who booked independently are still on their own.

If you booked your flight and accommodation separately then you should contact them to find out whether you can cancel and get a refund.

They are under no obligation to do so – but they may allow you to transfer your holiday if you can’t make it.

You might be able to claim from travel insurance though, so holidaymakers are advised to check with their providers to see if there is something they can do  – click here to find out more.
You might also be able to cancel and get a refund if you have a pre-existing medical condition or unexpected illness, anxiety or are pregnant – click here to find out more.

If you are due to fly to one of the affected regions the FCO warns against, airlines might now offer to change your flights free of charge.

Although, because the government advice only concerns specific towns and not airports, airlines are not obliged to.

Regions which are deemed safe to travel, such as Venice and Milan, will not be affected by the new government advice, with airlines unlikely to allow you to change your flights without a fee.

British Airways are allowing passengers with flights to Northern Italy between now and March 2 to delay their travel but are not allowing refunds. They have also cancelled several flights to Milan due to low demand.

Wizz Air have also cancelled a number of flights from London to Bari and are offering to rebook passengers on alteranative flights or reimnurse them 120 per cent of the fare in airline credit.

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