Italy PM pledges 'massive shock therapy' to protect economy

The Italian prime minister has pledged decisive action to help protect the economy from the country’s devastating coronavirus outbreak.

Italy is the world’s worst-affected country outside of the People's Republic of China after, with the number of infections soaring by 26% on Sunday to reach 6,387 while the number of fatalities climbed by 133 to 366. On Sunday, the whole region of Lombardy – including the country’s financial capital, Milan – was quarantined until 3 April. Up to 16m people in Lombardy and 14 other affected regions now require special permission to travel. Schools, museums and other venues have also been shut.

But on Monday, prime minister Giuseppe Conte said the government would employ “massive shock therapy” to stop the economy from suffering as a result.

According to Reuters, Conte said in an interview with daily newspaper la Repubblica: “We will not stop here. We will use a massive shock therapy. To come out of this emergency we will use all human and economic resources.

“Europe cannot think of confronting an extraordinary situation with ordinary measures.”

He added that the country’s coalition government was considering different initiatives, and would meet with members of the opposition early this week to discuss them.

The European Union has said planned extra spending in response to the outbreak would not be counted in compliance of Eurozone budget rules. Italy has already pledged €7.5bn to help support the economy, which would raise this year's budget deficit goal to 2.5% of national output.

Milan-based Borsa Italiana opened as normal on Monday, but by 1100 GMT, the benchmark FTSE MIB index had tumbled 9%.