law makers and politicians would be well advised to give the public as much notice as possible and prepare them and educate them about what to expect mentally.
The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: rapid review of the evidence: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6...
But we had enough time in all the Western countries by now which most didn't use the opportunity to educate their public.
the effects / shock / stress from quarantine will be much higher than when you discuss it openly with people and educate them.
it's negligent to just force anyone into isolation without telling them about the effects of isolation and steps to avoid anxiety or panic.
imagine if you can't tell your environment about what happened to you or you get caught in another city. what if you have a pet waiting at home to be fed. etc ...
Sure for some all this can be sorted out as it unfolds, but it sure doesn't have to be done like this.
There have been weeks in fact where Italians, Europeans had time to discuss these scenarios, and educate their constituents.
The world - yes even in 2020 - mostly is greased by the lubricant of money.
You won't find this in HBS case studies or find mentions of the influence of money on epidemic responses in the Lancet.
This is how the world operates - the rich mostly get their way and have apparatuses in place to be notified first in times of emergency, whether its extra-legal or not.
Italy is notorious for facilitating the ways of the old money. There are various tiers of corruption management offered by PR agencies - with armies of career diplomats, executives, liaisons of non-profits and megacorps alike, other attaches working for them - based on your ability to pay for it; tinpot republics cant afford the PR of richer nations like Italy where its kept hush hush.
The former "Bunga Bunga" Prime Minister was ( and is ) a multi-billionaire and a close friend of Putin. Italy's oldest bank was embroiled in a huge scandal that in all likelihood you probably haven't heard a peep about. Not to mention the lengthy list of Italian wealth-hiders revealed in the Panama Papers.[1] [2] [3]
If we had a media that gave a fair shake to all dollar value scandals equally you would read and watch reports on these just as often as the ones that the media is preoccupied with.
Somehow the media doesn't care to shine enough light on the dealings of your average Berlusconis or Gerhard Schröders ( former Chancellor of Germany ) or Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena. [4][5][6]
Perhaps we should stop putting certain countries on a pedestal because of how much we are enamored of, of their histories and our fondness for their culture in general.
You are making a value judgment that some seediness engaged in, by some countries is okay whereas others deserve the full glare of media exposure.
It's plainly wrong and history will find you culpable for it.
[1] Silvio Berlusconi and Vladimir Putin: the odd couple
https://www.ft.com/content/2d2a9afe-6829-11e5-97d0-1456a776a...
[2] Panama Papers: Italians Involved, from Trulli to Montezemolo
https://www.corriere.it/english/16_aprile_04/panama-papers-i...
[3] Why Deutsche Bank's Monte Paschi Scandal Still Matters
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-11-11/why-de...
[4] How a $450 Million Loss Was Hidden From Sight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtuRDmkm_7E
[5] Anger as German ex-chancellor Schroeder heads up Rosneft board
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41447603
[6] Why Putin's Pal, Germany's Ex-Chancellor Schroeder, Isn't On A Sanctions List
https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2018/04/18/601825131/...
edit: changed naive to naivete