I take all your points abour facilities but I wonder also if the biggest influx of Chinese tourism has been in that area when the virus was passing around from person to person.
There's suspicion that the virus was circulating for weeks before being recognized, the first three cases identified in January and two of the three having been tourists from (not to) China. All were isolated and further contacts (of the three) identified and "pursued". Shortly after that Italy cut all flight connections with China.
But a different infection chain appears to have secretly been active in Lombardy since January and lousy co-ordination (lack of agreement between government(s) and hospitals when and whom to test) wasn't helpful.
Patient "1" (as the Italian Press named him) went to see both his doctor and a hospital repeatedly in mid-Feb, but no one deemed it necessary to test him, since he had not been to China. He infected various others until, with a 36 hour delay, he was finally isolated.
But yeah, Northern Italy is a travel hub, both for industry (commerce) and tourism.
As such, Germany identified their "patient 1" very early. A woman from the Chinese subsidiary of a German car accessory producer, visiting the mother company for a briefing and infecting one of its employees. They cut that one by quarantining the whole firm and pursuing everyone (family, friends) that the guy had been in contact with.
But like with Italy, to no avail. The biggest"import" came practically simultaneously with Germans returning from their Italian holiday, primarily in Northern Italy (Venetia in winter and skiing in the Tyrolese).
Same here in Spain, those found to be infected early on had all been to Italy and then spread it around without realizing.
But it's pointless to appoint any blame (which neither you nor I are doing anyway). Once it goes into wildfire mode, the establishing and then pursuing of infection chains becomes impossible by sheer numbers.
Lockdown (as far as possible) will come at a high cost and is not the ultimate solution, but not enacting it would be totally irresponsible.
Except, of course, to the Lord of the Lies entrapped in the body of the Prime Sinister.:roll:
