Why is Italy outpacing China at such a rapid rate?
That’s what I’ve been wondering.....
I’m starting to think the Chinese took extraordinary measures to contain the virus that we aren’t privy to. I am not a conspiracy theorist so I’m try to educate myself and rationalize how.
I read it is because Italy's population is just older than China's.
A friend believes it's Italy's culture of greeting people with kisses. I don't think we'll ever see China's real numbers so using them as a baseline may be a waste of time but, if those numbers are accurate, we should consider that China took very aggressive measures by forcing the country into self quarantine and removing sick people from the population.
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My personal opinion follows.
France has the largest Chinese community in Continental Europe. After France, the largest community of Chinese people is in Italy. The difference is that there seems to be more clandestine, undocumented, illegal or trafficked Chinese people in Italy.
Why?
Because there is a lucrative business for clothing and accessory items that can be stamped, "Made in Italy". Hence, there are a lot of sweat shops and clothing factories, many concentrated in the Norther part of Italy, such as Lombardy, which is the epicenter of the outbreak for Italy. This production and industry is a multi-million dollar business, or more.
As early as 2014, the Italian authorities noted that many Chinese immigrants were coming to Italy. But, the statistical level of deaths among the Chinese immigrants reported was inconsistent and unrealistic as very FEW deaths were being reported. Basically, on paper, nobody was dying in a normal ratio to those that were arriving.
The Italian government surmised that of the certain group of Chinese people who were dying in Italy, their bodies may have been covertly disposed of, and their passports may have been confiscated and reused to bring in more Chinese workers to Italy, legally or illegally, from China.
Thus, you have a
DIRECT trail of Chinese people coming and going to Italy, from China, who were not necessarily visitors, but who may have been actual residents of Italy, legally or illegally.
One of the KEY aspects of controlling an epidemic is identifying patient zero. If patient zero is clandestine, undocumented or trafficked, it is virtually impossible to trace that person or, the persons with whom they have been in contact.
In the TED presentation video from 2014, by Bill Gates, he laid out four (4) components that slow or stop a viral epidemic:
- Patient Zero:Identification of patient zero, and tracing back to whom they've been in contact with, identifying and isolating everyone traced is imperative.
- Mobility: Ebola patients are not mobile as they are too sick to move.
- Urban Areas: Liberia, Sierra Leon and Guinea were the three main countries impacted by Ebola, but the cases were in small villages, not large urban areas. Thus, in comparison, they were 'easier' to contain.
- Airborne: Ebola is not airborne. You must come in contact with the person or their body fluids to contract the disease.
In the case of Italy, I do not think patient zero was identified, people are mobile because of the longer incubation period of the Covid 19 virus, it started in urban areas and it may be airborne.