A man has claimed Italy went through six stages in their coronavirus fight and subsequent lockdown – warning the UK has "no idea what's coming".
Jason Yanowitz shared an Italian citizen's account of the restrictions they endured, urging people to understand the seriousness of the situation.
He said the situation in Italy, which saw the country placed on a total quarantine, could become a way of life in countries across the world.
Jason said: "If you're still hanging with friends, going to restaurants/bars, and acting like this isn't a big deal, get your s**t together.
"The following threat is taken from an Italian citizen. As they put it "to the rest of the world, you have no idea what's coming."
Jason continued: "This situation is bad, but I think what's worse is seeing the rest of the world behaving as if it isn't going to happen to them. We know what you're thinking because we were in your place too."
Describing how things developed in Italy through a number of stages, Jason's 'Stage 1' post revealed: "You know that coronavirus exists and the first cases begin to appear in your country.
"Well, nothing to worry about – it's just bad flu. I'm not 75+ so what could possibly happen to me?
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"I'm safe, everybody is overreacting, what's the need to go out with masks and stock toilet paper.
"I'm going to live my life as usual, there's no need to freak out."
Moving to 'Stage 2', Jason said: "The number of cases begins to be significant.
"They declare a 'red zone' and quarantine one or two small cities where they found the first cases and a lot of people were infected.
"Well that's sad and somewhat worrisome, but they're taking care of it so nothing to panic about.
What are the symptoms of coronavirus?
The most common symptoms of the coronavirus are:
- a dry, persistent cough
- a fever
If you experience these symptoms, you should immediately self-isolate yourself for seven days.
It is not necessary to call NHS 111 unless your symptoms get more severe.
Some patients have reported fatigue, headaches, shortness of breath and aches and pains. Sneezing is not a symptom of the coronavirus.
"There are some deaths, but they're all old people so the media is just creating panic for views, how shameful.
"People lead their life as usual…I'm not going to stop going out and meeting my friends am I?
"It's not going to get me. Everybody's fine here."
About 'Stage 3', he wrote: "The number of cases is rapidly going up. They almost doubled in one day. There's more deaths.
"They declared red zones and quarantine the 4 regions where the majority of cases are registered.
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"In Italy, 25% of the population is under quarantine. Schools and universities are closed in these areas, but bars, work places, restaurants and so on are still open. The decree gets released by some newspaper before it should – so abut 10,000 people from the red zone escape the area that same night to return to their homes in the rest of Italy.
"Most of the population of the remaining 75% of Italy still does what it always does. They don't realise the seriousness of the situation.
"Everywhere you turn people advise to wash your hands and limit going out, large groups are forbidden, every five minutes on TV they remind you of the rules.
"But it still hasn't settled in people's minds."
About 'Stage 4' he writes: "The number of cases is heavily increasing.
"Schools and universities are closed everywhere for at least a month. It's a national health emergency. Hospitals are at capacity, entire units are cleared to make space for coronavirus patients.
"There aren't enough doctors and nurses are getting infected, spreading it to their families.
"There's too many cases of pneumonia, too many people who need ICU and not enough places for everyone.
"At this point it is like being at war: doctors have to choose who to treat based on their survival chance.
"That means the elderly and trauma/stroke patients can' get treated because corona cases have priority."
At 'Stage 5', Jason says: "The entire country has to be declared under quarantine (March 9)
"The goal is to delay the spreading of the virus as much as possible.
"People can't go to work, do grocery shopping, go to the pharmacy, and all businesses are open because otherwise the economy would collapse, but you can't move from your commune unless you have a valid reason.
"Now there's fear, you see a lot of people with masks and gloves around but there are still people who think they are invincible, who go to restaurants in large groups, hang out with friends to drink and so on."
At 'Stage 6' he writes: "It's announced that all (most) businesses are closed. Bars, restaurants, shopping centres, all kinds of shops.
"Everything except supermarkets and pharmacies.
"You can move around only if you have certification with you. Certification is an official document where you declare your name, where you're coming from, where you're going and what for. There are a lot of check points.
"If you're found outside without a valid reason you risk a fine up to 206 euros."
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