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The Italian village that prevents residents from getting sick

The Italian village that prevents residents from getting sick

A small Italian village has prevented its residents from becoming seriously ill.

People living in Belcastro "are ordered to avoid contracting any illness that may require urgent medical assistance," according to a decree from local mayor Antonio Torchia.

Belcastro is located in the southern region of Calabria - one of the poorest in Italy, the Telegraph reports.


Torchia said the move was "definitely a humorous provocation" but that it had more of an effect than the emergency notices he had sent to regional authorities to highlight the shortcomings of the local healthcare system.

About half of Belcastro's 1200 residents are over the age of 65, and the nearest Accident and Emergency (A&E) department is over 45 kilometers away, the mayor said.

He added that the A&E was only accessible from a road with a speed limit of 30 kilometers per hour.

The village surgery is also only open sporadically, and does not offer cover at weekends, holidays or after hours.

Torchia told Italian television that it was hard "to feel safe when you know that if you need help, your only hope is to get to [A&E] in time" - and that the streets were almost "more dangerous than any illness".

As part of the decree, residents are also ordered to "not engage in behaviors that may be harmful and avoid accidents in the family," and "not to leave the house frequently, travel or play sports, and rest for most of time".

It is unclear how these new rules will be implemented, if at all.

The sparsely populated region of Calabria – the tip of Italy's boot – is one of the country's poorest regions.

Political mismanagement and mafia interference have wrecked its health care system, which was placed under special administration by the central government nearly 15 years ago.

Commissioners appointed by Rome have struggled to deal with the huge levels of debt facing hospitals, meaning Calabrians remain crippled by serious shortages of medical staff and beds, as well as endless waiting lists.

Eighteen of the region's hospitals have closed since 2009.

As a result, almost half of Calabria's nearly two million inhabitants seek medical help outside the region.

In 2022, it was announced that Cuba would send 497 doctors to the Italian region over three years to work in various medical facilities.

The governor of the region, Roberto Occhiuto, said last year that these doctors had "saved" the hospitals of Calabria.

Residents of Belcastro told local media that Mayor Torchia "had done the right thing to shed light on the issue" and that the decision would "shock consciences".

"He has used a provocative decree to draw attention to a serious problem," said one man. /Telegraph/