WhatsApp messages exchanged between Italian politicians and senior health officials at the start of the coronavirus pandemic reveal how leaders attempted to protect the country’s image as it became the first in Europe to be hit, while appearing to joke about Italy’s role in the spread of the virus across the continent.
The messages are part of an inquiry that led prosecutors to place former prime minister Giuseppe Conte, former health minister Roberto Speranza and 17 other officials under investigation on suspicion of “aggravated culpable epidemic” and manslaughter in connection with the government’s response at the beginning of the pandemic.
