While reports coming out of Italy concerning the current COVID-19 pandemic are incredibly troubling, it appears that not all of the country’s population is taking the situation seriously.
With an excess of 35,000 confirmed cases and deaths caused by the virus surpassing 3,000 in the European country, Italy’s government has been forced to put the worst affected parts of the country – particularly the northern region of Lombardy – in total lockdown in order to halt the virus’ spread. How effective the quarantine period has been in achieving the desired effect remains to be seen, however, and despite its best efforts to enforce such unprecedented social distancing, some simply have no intention of playing by the rules.
According to a recent report by Italian newspaper Leggo (H/T, Business Insider) in fact, it seems that some people will let nothing get in the way of their quest to Catch ‘Em All.
The man in question, a 31-year-old from Sam Fermo in northern Italy, was approached by police after it was discovered he had been flouting lockdown to play Pokémon Go. The individual is said to have told authorities that “I have to hunt the Pokémon,” when he was found to be playing the hit mobile game while accompanied by his daughter, an excuse that, unsurprisingly, wasn’t deemed good enough. While Leggo says the man was subsequently charged, it’s not clear to whether this amounted to a fine and/or incarceration.
Developer Niantic recently introduced a number of temporary measures to Pokémon Go in order to address concerns that it could contribute to the virus’ spread. You can read all about those changes and how they’ll affect your playing experience over here.
Published: Mar 20, 2020 11:22 am