This is terrifying when we consider the most obvious political and social reality: that a democracy cannot fight a health threat with the same draconian measures that an autocracy can impose. To stem the spread of coronavirus, China put 58 million people under martial law, with ordinary citizens basically under house arrest. The state used electronic surveillance measures to police the lockdown. This is before you consider what it must have taken to complete the construction of emergency hospitals in a week. In any democracy such powers in the hands of the state, luckily, remain unthinkable.
The silence from Brussels could be as damaging as the silence on Italian streets
Source: What if the rest of Europe follows Italy’s coronavirus fate? | World news | The Guardian