Why Are There So Many Covid-19 Cases In Italy?

A thread by the FT's  Miles Johnson:

The Italian government has implied that the large number of cases is because of far more widespread testing in Italy. PM Conte said: “We've already done 4,000 swab checks. We are the first country in Europe that has decided on stricter and more accurate controls”.

— Miles Johnson (FT) (@MilesMJohnson) February 24, 2020

That's not the reason. Follow the thread.

Here's his FT coverage, we linked to one of his stories in yesterday's "These Coronavirus Headlines Are Not Very Encouraging":

Italy quarantines northern towns in coronavirus outbreak

Number of cases tops 150 in Europe’s biggest cluster as fears grow over pace it is spreading