Apparently arrived on " the plateau " of the pandemic, Italy has not started the descent but is thinking of restarting it with a health plan from the government which warns that the return to normal is not for tomorrow. This country saw Saturday April 4 the number of hospitalizations in intensive care to decrease for the first time since the pandemic exploded there more than a month ago.
Read also: LIVE - Coronavirus: in Spain, the number of deaths continues to drop
When can life start again?
The authorities have repeatedly said in recent days, fearing a slackening of behavior with the good weather and the Easter holidays: " we must not lower our guard " against the virus. " We are not in a position to lighten the containment measures ", warned mid-week Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, informing that Italy would remain stationary at least until April 13.
“ The emergency is not over. The danger has not gone away. We still have a few difficult months ahead of us, do not spoil the sacrifices made, "urged Health Minister Roberto Speranza on April 5 in an interview with the daily newspapers Il Corriere della Sera and La Repubblica . The goal is to return to normal "as soon as possible, " added the minister.
And after ? The head of Civil Protection, Angelo Borrelli, who shines the litany of victims every evening, mentioned May 16 as a possible date for entering a " phase 2 ", synonymous with " coexistence with the virus ", but only " if the evolution (of the pandemic) does not change ”.
With what sanitary measures?
The Minister of Health on Sunday exposed a five-point strategic plan " to gradually exit " from the pandemic advocating the wearing of a generalized mask, " scrupulous social distancing in living and working places " and a system of hospitals devoting to Covid-19 which will remain open after the crisis to prevent a possible return of the virus.
The government plans to strengthen " local health networks " so that each identified patient can be taken care of from screening to setting up treatment and testing samples from the population to determine the precise number of people infected.
The executive is finally considering the implementation of a smartphone application, on the South Korean model, both to map the movements of patients diagnosed during the 48 hours before infection and to promote telemedicine so, by for example, to monitor their heart rate and their oxygen level in the blood at home.
In which order ?
" Even when the coronavirus cases have dropped to zero, life will not be the same for a long time, " warned this week the president of the Higher Institute of Health (ISS), Silvio Brusaferro.
With the easing of containment measures, the first activities that should resume are those linked to the food and pharmaceutical supply chain. This should also be the case for artisans whose shops see a limited number of people passing by.
Bars, restaurants, nightclubs or sports halls will be the last to reopen and, when the time comes, their owners will have to provide a safety distance of at least one meter between their customers and their staff.
Those wishing to return to Italy - around 200,000 Italians currently according to official figures - will have to put themselves in solitary confinement and present on board an airplane or train a declaration on honor specifying the address where they will have to undergo a quarantine period. Public transport will have to keep traffic low.
