Italian village forbids residents from becoming ill

The mayor of Belcastro said the "humorous provocation" was an attempt to expose the state of the region's healthcare system.

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People living in Belcastro "are ... ordered to avoid contracting any illness that may require emergency medical assistance," a decree from local Mayor Antonio Torchia states.

Belcastro sits in the southern region of Calabria - one of Italy's poorest.

Torchia said the move was "obviously a humorous provocation", but that it was having more of an effect than the urgent notices he had sent to regional authorities to highlight the shortcomings of the local healthcare system.

Around half of Belcastro's 1,200 residents are over the age of 65 and the nearest Accident & Emergency (A&E) department is over 45km (28 miles) away, the mayor said.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gxnv6ng7yo

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