The confinement imposed on the Italians for almost three weeks will be "extended at least until Easter," announced Italian Minister of Health Roberto Speranza on Monday evening.
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"At the Scientific and Technical Committee meeting this morning, it was felt that all containment measures should be extended until at least Easter. The government will go in this direction, "said Minister of Health Roberto Speranza. Easter celebrations end on Monday, April 13, a holiday in Italy.
11,500 deaths, declining cases
This announcement comes at a time when Italy, the country most grieving by the pandemic and which has still recorded 812 deaths in the last 24 hours, is recording encouraging signs of an imminent control of the contagion after nearly three weeks of population containment . However, the authorities call for caution and the continued efforts required of the 60 million Italians. More than 11,500 people have died in Italy, but the increase in new positive cases announced on Monday has never been lower, with an increase of + 4%, half as much as four days ago (8.3%) and four times less than a fortnight ago.
Above all, for the first time since the start of the pandemic in Italy, the number of people currently positive in Lombardy, the region most affected, has decreased (25,006 against 25,392 Sunday), even if this decrease will have to be repeated to draw a trend solid.
Furthermore, the number of people considered healed across the country (1,590) has never been so high in a daily report. "We can hope to reach the peak in seven or ten days, then, reasonably, a decline in contagion," said Deputy Minister of Health Pierpaolo Sileri on Monday.
“We are witnessing a flattening of the curve, there are not yet signs of descent but it is better. The important measures that have been taken show their effects, "also welcomed Monday morning in the Repubblica Silvio Brusaferro, head of the Higher Institute of Health (ISS).
"Very progressive" relief
But he called for continued efforts to confirm this trend: "We must respect the measures of the government and pay close attention to the isolation of the positives or their relatives," he insisted.
The governor of Lombardy, Attilio Fontana regretted a relaxation: “Unfortunately, today (...), I saw more people and cars, as if the relative and discreet good news of these last days had made that our fellow citizens no longer feel obliged to respect the rules, ”he said during his daily press briefing.
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Its head of health, Giulio Gallera, for his part warned that these efforts should be maintained "for many months": "Even when we have successfully stopped (the virus), the risk of resumption of the contagion will be very high "
In an interview with the Spanish daily El Pais, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, considered "reasonable to think that we are close to the peak" of contagion. But any easing of the measures "when the scientific committee says that the curve begins to go down" must be "very gradual," he warned.
The decision to limit productive activity "is a very tough measure economically," he acknowledged. "This is the last one we have taken and it cannot last too long," he said. Citing the national federation of medical associations, the Italian agency Agi said that 61 doctors had lost their lives since the arrival of the pandemic in Italy.