In contrasting the pandemic "Italy has been a shining example, with national unity and solidarity, common commitment and humility, even the worst situation can be reversed", said
WHO
director general
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in video connection with the forum ad Assisi 'Cortile di Francesco'
, expressing "appreciation to President Mattarella, Prime Minister Conte, Minister Speranza, the internal government and the Italian people" for how they managed the crisis.
"Italy - he recalled - has made difficult decisions and has insisted on those, reducing transmission and saving many lives. WHO is proud to have worked with Italy on a daily basis, creating a network of mutual trust".
But we must not let our guard down, because "everything that has been achieved can be lost and many people remain at risk, the transmission of the virus is also increasing in Italy, as in many European countries. With the winter, the opening of the schools and people returning to normal life, everyone has to lead their part, keeping themselves and others safe, "he added.
"The second wave is in our hands. It can be avoided or controlled," but by following rules,
according to Ghebreyesus.
"We need to do 4 things: first, avoid mass gatherings. Second, protect the most vulnerable, the elderly and those with previous diseases. Third, people must collaborate, listen to the recommendations of the institutions, as we have seen in Italy. Fourth, continue testing, "he stressed.
"The risks we will have with the reopening of schools and with the further liberalization of shows, especially sports ones, should not be underestimated now
. Ranieri Guerra
, also in Assisi, talking about the evolution of Covid on the sidelines of the event organized by the "Cortile di Francesco".
"The case is still well managed - added Guerra - We must now pursue the discipline that the Italians have already demonstrated: The monitoring system put in place by the government is working very well and the increase in intensive care beds and territorial capacity are pillars on which the system is holding up well ".
"We are facing an increase, albeit mild and controlled, in the number of positives, seriously ill patients and admissions to intensive care, even if we are not yet at the level of our neighbors, such as Spain and France".
"This - he concluded - means that the effect of the very rigid lockdown is allowing Italy a positive effect".
Italy was the country that reacted with greater firmness than all the other countries ", he then added making a comparison with other countries, such as France," where - he said - they persist in considering the possibility of isolation in case of positivity, while in Italy the quarantine is mandatory ".
"The first lesson of Covid is that it made clear to everyone in a more direct and immediate way what the title of the next encyclical will be, which we await with great trepidation, that we are all brothers, gave a much clearer perception of a fact that now it is unavoidable and can only be the starting point for any recipe, "that is" that we are strongly interdependent, in the same boat and that this reinforces the need to unite the whole human family in the search for sustainable development ".
Thus the Minister of Economy Roberto Gualtieri speaking in Assisi at the 'Cortile di Francesco'
. "This time, unlike in the past, Europe has shown this ability to translate interdependence into a more robust common action based on solidarity". "The choice to assign primacy to life, to save human lives" even to the detriment of the economy showed that "it was not true that the two were in contradiction" and that "a massive response with unprecedented choices" and "based on solidarity "proved to be right also from an economic point of view: those who contained the virus most could then start again safely, this has an impact on a certain degree of recovery". "We cannot limit ourselves to being satisfied that Europe has been up to the challenge this time, we must broaden our gaze and be aware that the same degree of innovation is needed to address the global consequences of this pandemic, which risk being very heavy. ", in particular" for low-income countries, "said Gualtieri. In Italy "we have tried to support everyone, starting with the weakest with unprecedented measures". But now Europe must "give a new direction to get out of this crisis: not only to go back to where we were before the pandemic but to design a world in line with the 17 goals of sustainable development of the United Nations". Even the Monetary Fund "must increase its firepower, must have the courage to increase the special drawing rights, which are a form of additional fiscal capacity, based on a basket of currencies, which effectively increases the reserves of the various Countries. Therefore, 1 trillion additional rights would give solidity to countries that do not have enough ".
