March 19, 2020
How did Italy become the new ground zero of Coronavirus?
By Peter Barry Chowka
Much is being made of the fact that Italy – an advanced European nation – has become the hot zone of coronavirus impact. The implication is that if a First World country with the equivalent of “Medicare for All†could succumb to the pandemic, it should be really serious for the USA. Right?
Wrong! Despite all of the coverage and hype about Italy and COVID-19, some important information about the epidemiology or cause of the virus’s impact on Italy is being overlooked or ignored by the mainstream media. As the Times of India reported on March 19:
If there is one country that has suffered the most due to COVID-19 beyond China, it has to be the European country of Italy. But what is the connection between Italy and the novel coronavirus considering the deadly virus is reported to have originated from China? The answer is fashionably simple. The northern part of Italy has been a traditionally prosperous region due to the flourishing fashion and garment industry. Most of the big global brands like Gucci and Prada have their base in this region.
With China offering one of the cheapest manufacturing options in the world, it came as little surprise that most of these fashion brands were working with China. A large number of these Italian fashion and garment houses had outsourced their manufacturing to Chinese labour, specifically in Wuhan. Italy also has direct flights from Wuhan and reports suggest over 100,000 Chinese citizens were working in Italian factories. Chinese made a slow and steady move into Italy and many Italian fashion firms are now owned by them as well. As per a news report, there are more than 300,000 Chinese and over 90% of them work in the Italian garment industry. As per reports, there are thousands of small companies that are active in exports. This region is also very interconnected as well.
more
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/03/how_did_italy_become_the_new_ground_zero_of_coronavirus.html
