‘Streets are completely empty’: Borderland native living in Italy experiences virus lockdown first-hand

MILAN, Italy -- It's been two days since Italy was placed on lockdown in an effort to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus. As of Wednesday, the number of infected is over 10,000 and the number of deaths has surpassed 600 in Italy.

Movement is restricted for the 60 million people living in Italy, schools and universities are closed, public gatherings are prohibited and all sporting events canceled.

Borderland native Gustavo Gottfried now lives in Milan and told ABC-7 that the "streets are completely empty" there.

He added, "You do see that there's not a lot of movement on the streets. The buses pass because public transport is still working, but the two buses I saw were completely empty -- something that at this time of the day, they would (usually) be full."

Gottfried told ABC-7 that in order to leave home to go to work or wherever, you need to present a pass that says you're aware of what is going on and specifies a reason for going out. Otherwise people are asked to just stay home.

"We have this situation going on and some of our habits need to change," said Gottfried.

While the virus can infect anybody of any age, race or ethnicity, it can be especially deadly for the elderly of those with underlying health conditions.

"We need to be more aware of what we are doing and how we are living and taking care of each other, not just yourself but the other person, the other entity." said Gottfried. "It's going to go a long way."

Gottfried's parents still live in Ciudad Juarez and he said his parents are definitely worried about him and his brother, who also lives in Italy.

Gottfried said he is staying in constant communication with his family so that they know he's okay.