ROME – A protest in Modena prison in which barricades were erected, objects were thrown, and furniture was broken has left six inmates dead and four in critical condition, according to prison administration sources. The riot started after the decision to suspend family visits, and Carabinieri and firefighters had to intervene to restore order, but it is unclear whether there remain pockets of resistance or not, La Repubblica reports. The causes of death also remain unclear.

  On Sunday afteroon, when the Italy death toll spiked with 133 in one day, and the total of cases rose to 7375, video footage emerged showing black smoke coming out of Modena prison which had been caused by a mattress fire. It has since emereged that 27 prisons were in revolt on Sunday, in Palermo, Salerno, Naples, Frosinone, Vercelli, Alessandria, and Foggia. Roadblocks have since been put in place in Palermo and prisoners escaped from Foggia, report Il Fatto Quotidiano.

 The building from which the Modena prison riot started had to be evacuated on Monday and most of the detainees were transfered to other buildings. "The prison is completely unusable,” explained one official as quoted in La Repubblica. “In 25 years I have never seen such a situation. To quote a colleague – 'not even a hurricane would have caused such devastation'.”

   In the case of the prison of Poggioreale, Naples, some prisoners climbed up on the internal walls while their relatives were protesting outside the prison.

  According to new directives from the Italian government, those violating quarantine in Italy could end up inside prison walls, with violations incurring up to three months in prison or a fine, according to the Interior Ministry.

   WHO executive Professor Walter Ricciardi, who advises the Italian Minister of Health Roberto Speranza, has suggested that the whole of Italy could be subject to similar draconian measures as are currently in place in the north.

  "A serious situation now affects all of Europe. We are facing an unprecedented situation, it is the first time that we have such a contagious virus,” he said, as quoted in La Stampa.

  Pressure is growing on the UK government to clarify their position in relation to developments in Italy, with those planning to travel back to the UK from the quarantined regions saying that they have been given no travel guidance, according to the Guardian.

  British holiday makers were left confused on Sunday, after the UK Foreign Office website continued to advise UK citizens that travel to the north of Italy was safe apart from the 11 towns where the outbreak originated, despite the Italian government’s weekend lock-down. The UK Foreign Office have since updated their website.

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