Rise in contagions in Europe: Italy is worried about being "surrounded"

Italy, which remains closed to nationals of the Balkans and requires a quarantine for travelers from Romania and Bulgaria, is worried about being " surrounded " by the rise in contagion with the coronavirus among its European neighbors.

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" France, Spain, Balkans: Italy is surrounded by contagions, " warns the daily Il Corriere della Sera on Monday , which publishes an infographic listing the number of new cases in the last two weeks in European countries. Spain is well in the lead, followed by Romania, France, Germany, Great Britain and Poland.

The peninsula, far behind, recorded two deaths on Sunday, the lowest toll since February 21, the date of the first deaths in the country. If the number of new cases is less good (+463 in 24 hours), the situation remains under control, according to the authorities. But “ not to worry (about new cases coming from abroad) would be unconscious, ” Health Minister Roberto Speranza told Corriere.

" We must be ready "

The fear is indeed that new outbreaks are created from cases imported from neighboring countries, such as these thirty young Italians from Veneto (North-East) who went on vacation to Croatia and returned with the virus whose history has been widely repeated. by Italian media. " We must be ready: over the next two weeks, the number of contagions on return (from a trip abroad, editor's note) will increase, " said Rodolfo Punzi, director of the infectious diseases department of Cotugno hospital. Naples (South), cited by La Stampa.

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Italy has also imposed a cordon sanitaire with certain countries, closing its doors to travelers from Kosovo, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, North Macedonia and Moldova. Those coming from Bulgaria and Romania must observe quarantine and medical monitoring.

On the front line during the arrival of the coronavirus in Europe, Italy is a good student with strict rules for wearing a mask and social distancing, even if behavior has relaxed with the arrival of summer and holidays. The newspapers are full of photos showing overcrowded beaches during the weekend in Liguria (North West), known for its seaside resorts.

Fines and closure orders

For the day of Saturday alone, a hundred establishments were sanctioned with fines or closure orders for non-compliance with anti-contagion standards, against only 18 for the entire previous week. Several seaside resorts in the country have imposed severe restrictions on access to beaches, even if the surveillance of tens of km of coastline is a problem in some municipalities.

In Ragusa in Sicily, the mayor decided to resort to volunteers. “ We will use them to monitor access to the coast (...). Unfortunately young people are not aware of the danger ”, explains Peppe Cassi, quoted by La Repubblica. Regarding the search for a vaccine, the Roman Hospital Spallanzani, a public establishment specializing in infectious diseases, announced that it was starting consultations on Monday to select 90 volunteers " to participate in a clinical study on a vaccine against Covid-19 ".