The public reaction against the European Union in Italy is growing as people have bombarded the bloc with allegations of insufficient support amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
In recent days, some Italians uploaded videos on social media in which they hoist the flag of China and Russia instead of the EU’s 12 stars. Both China and Russia have delivered medical teams and equipment to the virus-hit country, while the EU reportedly remains unresponsive to the crisis.
Politicians also started to join the Italian's protests as the number of deaths passed 12,000 on Tuesday. In a video, a member of Italian Fratelli d’Italia, Fabio Rampelli is seen removing the EU flag from his chambers, replacing it with the Italian national flag.
Last week, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte warned that EU leaders were in danger of making "tragic mistakes."
"If Europe does not rise to this unprecedented challenge, the whole European structure loses its raison d'etre to the people," Conte said.
“I represent a country that is suffering a lot and I cannot afford to procrastinate," he added.
Italy's death toll reached 12,428 on Tuesday, the highest globally. Spain's reported death toll is 8,189.
After first appearing in Wuhan, China last December, the virus has spread to at least 180 countries and regions, according to U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.
Its data shows the number of confirmed cases worldwide has surpassed 860,100, with the death toll over 42,300 and more than 178,300 recoveries.
