ITALIAN MAYOR PROHIBITS RESIDENTS FROM GETTING SICK
Residents of Belcastro in the southern region of Italy have been prohibited from getting sick.
The town’s mayor issued an unusual proclamation “to avoid contracting any illness that requires medical assistance, especially an emergency”.
Although the message was conveyed tongue-in-cheek, the idea is to highlight Belcastro’s inadequate access to healthcare.
CNN reports that half of the town of about 1,300 people are elderly and the town’s health centre is disappointing.
The centre is closed most of the time, and on-call doctors are usually not available on weekends, holidays or after hours.
The nearest emergency room is 45 kilometres away in the city of Catanzaro. That’s one of the reasons why the city’s mayor made the important announcement.
CNN reports that in his decree, the mayor asked people not to “engage in behaviours that may be harmful and to avoid domestic accidents,” and “not to leave the house too often, travel or practice sports, and to rest for the majority of the time.”
The mayor hopes to get the attention of the regional authorities and health officials so that they can address these major concerns. He added that the ordinance will stay in effect until the town’s public health centre is open regularly.
Image credit: CNN