US student in Italy on life under coronavirus quarantine
John Cabot University student Federica Romeo told 'America's Newsroom' she is taking life day-by-day as the virus continues to spread
Life under the threat of the coronavirus pandemic in Italy has to be taken day by day, John Cabot University student Federica Romeo, who is quarantined in the European country, said Thursday.
Appearing on "America's Newsroom" with host Sandra Smith, Romeo said that in the span of just a few days the disease's hold in Italy has notably tightened.
"I really didn't think that all of this would have happened," Romeo, a dual citizen, said. "I was actually pretty hopeful that we had reached the peak of it and evidently that's not true."
In the last 24 hours, Italy has seen a 22.7 percent increase in confirmed cases of the virus — up 12,462 from 10,149 Wednesday. The pandemic has reached over 124,000 people globally and killed over 4,600 thus far.
On Wednesday night, President Trump announced a 30-day ban on travel from all of Europe in an effort to mitigate the spread infection.
"I haven't left my house much," she explained. "I went to the market. That was pretty much it [for] the last five days. I am really hoping this ends soon because really it's bizarre to see Italy in this kind of way."
Romeo told Smith that she and her parents have been arguing back-and-forth as to whether or not she should make the journey back to the United States.
"I mean, given Trump's address last night, like, we have until Friday at midnight to come home," she explained. "The tickets are about $2,000, $3,000 for a one-way ticket. But, it's really not about the price. It's more about the risk and the one that I would bring with me."
Romeo also said that while her "small fridge" is stocked, she will likely just have to "play it out" and see what happens. Until then, residents have no choice but to stay inside unless they have a written permit allowing them to leave.
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"People are waking up and finding out that this virus is something that needs to be contained," she said. "I'm happy that the United States has kind of gotten in front of this — this whole mess."
"And, hopefully, it proves that it is helpful," she concluded. "It's going to work."
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