Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich Stuck in Italy Amid Lockdown

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), in Washington, on June 16, 2017. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Former GOP House Speaker Newt Gingrich and his wife, Callista, revealed that he is trapped in Italy as the European nation grapples with the CCP virus pandemic.

“Italy is a very sobering experience,” Gingrich told Fox 5 in New York on Wednesday. “Everything is closed down. The only thing that is open are grocery stores, pharmacies, and gas stations.”

The Epoch Times refers to the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, as the CCP virus because the Chinese Communist Party’s coverup and mismanagement allowed the virus to spread throughout China before it was transmitted worldwide.

He was in Italy, as Callista Gingrich is the U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican, which is located within the confines of the city of Rome.

Italian authorities now “have very strict rules about walking or driving,” he remarked. “If you don’t have a good reason to be doing it, you can be fined $8,000. They’ve really gone all-out to get ahead of the virus.”

U.S. Embassy staff, including Callista Gingrich, have been working remotely in the interim.

“We’ve been here at the house for 10 days now,” the former House speaker told the news outlet. “We’ve really steadily restricted over the last two months as the virus grew.”

Gingrich said he and his wife are “trying to have a life a little more than just hiding in your room but we are basically are stuck in our house.”

Approximately 70,000 people have been infected with the virus in Italy, which has been under nationwide lockdown since earlier this month. More than 7,500 deaths have also been reported so far, according to Italian health authorities.

Spain has the second-most deaths and cases in Europe after officials in the country reported 4,000 deaths to date.