NEW YORK TIMES
The Coronavirus Stalls Milan, Italy’s Economic Engine
“It’s obvious that these crises happening in these days will inevitably have an impact on the Italian economy,” said Marco Barbieri, secretary general of Confcommercio Milan
The Coronavirus Stalls Milan, Italy’s Economic Engine.
Milan is not a closed city, but it is a drastically slowed one, after a spike of cases in the region, raising anxiety about a broader slowdown.
Milan is not a closed city, but it is a drastically slowed one after Italy experienced a surge in coronavirus cases concentrated mostly, though not exclusively, around Milan, the country’s economic engine, cultural capital and most dynamic city. While Milan is far from panicked, there is a growing anxiety, if not about the virus’s spread, then of its broader impact on the city’s life and economy — and of the drag a hobbled Lombardy region could have on the rest of Italy’s fragile economy. The effects of the virus are widening. Ten smaller Lombard towns to Milan’s south have been locked down. An 11th town, to the east, was added to the list on Monday. The number of cases in Italy continued to multiply, reaching 229, with at least six deaths, all of older people already in declining health. Even before the eruption of cases, the virus was wreaking havoc across the wealthy and industrial north, where Milan sits. Now, a broader economic impact is taking shape. “It’s obvious that these crises happening in these days will inevitably have an impact on the Italian economy,” said Marco Barbieri, secretary general of Confcommercio Milan, the city’s top commercial organization.
25/02/20