Coronavirus riots to erupt 'at any moment' as Red Cross warns cities face 'social bomb'
SOCIAL UNREST could erupt in some of Europe's largest cities over the next few weeks as people struggle with falling incomes due to the coronavirus crisis, a Red Cross chief has warned.
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Europe has seen a substantial increase in the number of coronavirus cases and deaths in recent weeks, as the continent accounts for over half of the world's 601,520 cases. Italy, Spain, Germany and France are Europe's worst-hit countries, with Italy surpassing China's total confirmed cases and death toll this week. The shocking figures has prompted one Red Cross official to warn an eruption of social unrest across Europe's biggest cities is imminent.
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Francesco Rocca, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) told a United Nations news briefing: "We have a lot of people who are living very marginalised, in the so-called black hole of society.
"In the most difficult neighbourhoods of the biggest cities I am afraid that in a few weeks we will have social problems.
"This is a social bomb that can explode at any moment, because they don't have any way to have an income."
He warned the risk of suicide is increasing among vulnerable people forced to isolate on their own.
Mr Rocca, who is also president of the Italian Red Cross, said the largest Western cities could see the unrest emerge in just a few weeks time.
The Red Cross chief said many people have been adversely affected by the lockdowns, seeing a huge drop in their income as they are unable to leave home to work.
Mr Rocca said he has met with Italian mayors and some of the 180,000 Red Cross volunteers who are helping elderly people confined to their homes.
The volunteers are carrying out their food shopping and retrieving medicines from pharmacies.
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The IFRC, which has 14 million volunteers in 192 countries, and the International Committee of the Red Cross appealed on Thursday for 800 million Swiss francs (£673 million) to help vulnerable communities worldwide fight the coronavirus.
The British Red Cross is currently working to make sure vital food parcels are available to those who need them most.
Volunteers are also collecting medicines to those unable to leave their homes.
On March 13, the World Health Organization declared Europe was now at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak, after the continent saw a vast increase in the number of cases.
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Since then, most countries have implemented lockdown measures in an effort to curb the spread of the disease.
Italy is currently the second worst-hit country in the world, with over 86,498 confirmed cases of the virus and a death toll of over 9,124 - the highest globally.
The country's high fatality rate has been attributed to its demographics, as the country has the second oldest population in the world.
So far, over 85 percent of those who have died were over 70, according to the National Institute of Health's (ISS) latest report.
Massimo Galli, head of the infectious disease unit at Sacco Hospital in Milan, said: "We have many elderly people with numerous illnesses who were able to live longer thanks to extensive care, but these people were more fragile than others."
Mr Galli said many of the patients who have died from coronavirus were already suffering from other serious diseases.
ISS report almost half, 48 percent, of COVID-19 victims had an average of three pre-existing illnesses.
