2020-03-14 The Week Junior

The Week Junior• 14 March

This week’s big news

2

T

he Italian governmenthas placed the whole of

Italy in quarantine, which means people must

stay at home and limit theircontact with others.

The announcementwasmade on9March as part of

Italy’sefforts to stop the spreadoft he coronavirus

that causes the disease known asCovid-19.

What isCovid-19?

The Covid-19 disease iscaused byanew type of

coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). Itwasdiscovered in

humans inWuhan, China, at the end of last year.

Symptoms ofCovid-19 include breathing difficulties,

asorethroat and ahigh temperature. Ifaperson

has these symptoms, it does not mean they have

Covid-19–there aremany types ofcoronavirus,

including one thatcauses thecommoncold.

What has the Italian government done?

Italy has banned its 60 million people from travelling

around thecountry and has asked them to stay at

home. The government has closed cinemas and

museums and banned public gatherings, including

sporting events. These measures will last until at least

3April. Shops andrestaurants areopen but people

have been told to stay at least one metreapart.

WhyisItaly under lockdown?

On 9March, the number of people in Italy infected by

the coronavirusrose sharply to morethan 9,000. At

the same time, the number of people who had died

increased to 463.“Weare fa cing anational

emergency,” said the Italian prime minister,Giuseppe

Conte. By 11 March, therewere10,149coronavirus

cases and 631 deaths.

What about Italianschools?

All schools and universities have been shut. Edoardo

Diletti,astudent, told theBBChe wasenjoying being

off school and understood itwasnecessary to stop

young people from getting sick. InLombardy,inn orth

Italy,headteacher AmandaFerrario said lessons

would becarried out on the internet. Some parents

said they wereworried how they weregoing to

entertain their children while they wereathome.

Howmany people areinfected globally?

Across the world, thereare morethan 121,

knowncases ofCovid-19. Morethan 4,300 people

have died, around 73% of them in China. Many of

those who have died wereinpoor health already –

most people whocatch it makeafullrecovery.

What about theUK?

In the UK, thereare 456 confirmedcases and

therehavebeen six deaths. On9March, the UK

Government held an emergency meeting. It said it

had aplan to deal withawidespreadoutbreakof

the coronavirus–including closing schools,making

people work from home and banning all large

gatherings. However,the Government decided itwas

not yet time to introducethese plans. It saidsporting

events would go ahead and schools would stay open.

All figures andinformation were co rrect at the time

The Week Juniorwentto press on 11 March.

Italy shutsdowntot ry and

stop spread of coro navirus

eofour UK

reader s, Helena,

interviewed her

friendsPepe,

13,and Emilia,

11, who live

in Rome, Italy.

Their school is

now closed until

3April. They say that the one

positive abouthavin gtostay

at home is that they’vebeen

able to havealie-in in the

mornings. They’ve been given

homework to do online, but

sports clubs and music lessons

have beencancelled. Cinemas,

libraries and museums have

all had to close. Although they

miss theirfrien ds and say that

it’ssometimes“boring”to have

to stay at home, they know

that it’simportanttos tick to

the rules.“Itisbetter that we

don’tsee our friends until it’s

ok to do so,” they say.

What’s it likeinItaly?

ROB

OT TO

THE RESCUE

Children at

aschool in

Taiwan ha

vebuilt

aLegor

obot

that spr

aysdisinf

ectant on

students

’hands,

to

keep them health

y.

Covid-19iss pread viacough and sneeze

droplets.Stay health ybytouching your

mouth, nose orface as li ttleaspossible.

Wash your hands with soap andwater

often,for 20 seconds. If youcough or

sneeze,cover your mouthand nose with a

tissue or your sleeve, not your hands. Put

the tissue in the bin and thenwash your

hands or use hand sanitiser.

Good to know

Awoman in thelocked

down city of Milan, Italy.

One

r

Helena, aged12.