About half of Belcastro’s 1,200 residents are over 65, and the nearest emergency department (H&E) is more than 45km (28 miles) away, the mayor said.
He added that ambulances could only be reached by road with a speed limit of 30 km/h (18 mph).
The village on-call medical clinic is also open occasionally and does not provide insurance on weekends, holidays or after hours.
Torchio told Italian television that it was difficult “to feel safe when you know that if you need help, your only hope is to get to an ambulance in time” – and that the roads are almost “more of a risk than any disease”.
As part of the decree, residents are also ordered to “not engage in harmful behavior and avoid accidents in the family” and “not to leave the house too often, not to travel or exercise, but (instead) to rest more part of the time”.
It is unclear how these new rules will be enforced, if at all.
The sparsely populated region of Calabria – the tip of the Italian boot – is one of the poorest in the country.
Political mismanagement and mafia interference have destroyed the health care system, which was placed under special management by the central government almost 15 years ago.
