A City in Crisis:
The impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on Milan is enormous. It has killed 29,000 people, left thousands of homeless and devastated a city whose economy is largely dependent on tourism. It is the largest outbreak in Italy and the second-largest in Europe, after the SARS-CoV pandemic.
The crisis is affecting people of all ages, but it has most severely affected older people and the homeless. Many are dying of fentanyl, a powerful opioid that is 100 times more potent than morphine and can kill in a single dose. Fortunately, the city has Narcan, which can save lives when used quickly enough.
In the wake of the crisis, cities around the world are taking action to address the opioid epidemic and protect their most vulnerable citizens. In San Francisco, a city that has long struggled with drug addiction and public safety, the response has been focused on harm reduction, which aims to help addicts get treatment, rather than jailing them.
A City in Crisis: The Devastating Impact of COVID-19 on Milan
As a result of the crisis, more people than ever before have been using fentanyl in the city. This has created a unique situation for the health and social service providers who work with those in need.
One of the things that has been most difficult for city officials to deal with is the influx of addicts who have died of overdoses. While this is a problem that has been plaguing the city for years, the fentanyl epidemic has accelerated in recent months and has led to an unprecedented number of deaths.
A significant aspect of this influx has been fentanyl dealers, who have moved into areas with large numbers of people suffering from the epidemic. In particular, the Tenderloin and South of Market neighborhoods in the heart of the city have seen a dramatic spike in overdose deaths and the presence of dealers who offer fentanyl.
The fentanyl problem has also put many of the city’s most important public facilities and services in danger, including hospitals, libraries and parks. It has forced the city to close several of them, causing major disruptions in city services.
It has also strained the city’s emergency response system, which relies on law enforcement agencies to respond to overdose calls and arrest people who sell fentanyl. Some police departments are struggling to handle the surge in demand, and others haven’t had the money necessary to adequately staff them.
While it may be easy to blame this epidemic on fentanyl dealers, there are other reasons for the increased number of overdose deaths. These include a lack of adequate opioid treatment and prevention programs, and a city’s failure to address the problem in a comprehensive and long-term way.
Another contributing factor is the emergence of proximity economies, which are economic models wherein people are located near one another and have close relationships. They are also characterized by a high degree of interdependence between individuals and the ability to move from place to place easily, making them more likely to use drugs.