On this edition of Africa 54, The government of Italy takes the drastic step of putting the entire country of 60 million on lockdown to combat the spread of coronavirus; The Democratic Republic of Congo confirms its first case of COVID-19; The families of passengers and crew aboard Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 mark the first anniversary of the 2019 crash; Human rights groups urge Zimbabwe’s government to investigate the case of an activist who disappeared five years ago.

A54 Health: At least 69 Ugandan students are effectively trapped in Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the corona-virus epidemic. In Uganda, parents of the students are pleading with authorities to bring them home, but Ugandan officials say they have no plans to do so.