>> 4. Is the Italian lock down a deliberate attempt to repeat what has worked in
>> China
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As regulars might remember, I live in Austria. The government yesterday announced a partial shut down. As from Monday 16th, all shops will be closed except for supermarkets, banks and chemists, plus a few other exceptions such as fuel stations. All restaurants, bars, cafes etc have to close at 3pm. Borders were closed with Italy last week. There are already measures in place prohibiting indoor events over 100 people and outdoor events over 500. Panic buying seems the norm here too - can't understand why all the fresh milk (as opposed to longlife) was sold out in the supermarkets yesterday. Advice is pretty much standard, such as minimising social contact.
We have an apartment that we run commercially as a holiday let, and in complete contrast to previous years we only have six nights booked over the next couple of months. I have a theory that there were things happening in China and South Korea before they were publicly announced, because our usual advance bookings from those regions fell away a month or so before coronavirus came to public attention. We've also had a few cancellations, and it's certainly going to put our personal finances under pressure.
We've also cancelled a planned family visit to the UK in April, because we were travelling by train. We have to go in June for a family wedding, also by train, so we'll probably change our plans and go by car so that we can effectively self-isolate on the journey.
I have concerns for my 87-year old father in the UK, but he is more or less self-isolating because although he has no underlying lung or heart problems (as far as we know) he has problems with his mobility and usually would only go out once or twice a week anyway.
Looks like we'll be doing a lot of walking over the next few weeks!
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