Antibody testing in Italy indicates that nearly 1.5 million people, or about 2.5 per cent of the population, have had the coronavirus.
But officials said Monday that huge geographic variations in the results confirmed a nationwide lockdown was "absolutely crucial" to preventing the country's south from getting slammed as badly as its north.
But there were significant geographic disparities: An estimated 7.5 per cent of the Lombardy region's residents had virus antibodies versus 1.9 per cent in neighbouring Veneto. Within Lombardy, sharp differences also emerged from province to province: Some 24 per cent of Bergamo residents developed virus antibodies, but only 5.1 per cent of residents did a few provinces over in Pavia.
Italy's lockdown was among the strictest in Europe, with residents ordered to venture out only for unavoidable work, medical appointments or other necessities such as grocery shopping. The aim was to prevent the health care system in the less-developed south from being overwhelmed, as occurred in prosperous Lombardy. Police checkpoints, fines and cellphone data tracking were used to impress upon Italians the need to stay home.
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