Italy announces new prevention measures in the face of the increase in coronavirus infections

The Italian oasis in the second wave of covid-19 that hit Europe begins to fade.

The transalpine country, despite being the first to enter the pandemic and having done so in a more virulent way, had so far withstood the new onslaught with data on infections and relatively low hospital admissions.

Especially compared to those of some neighbors like France and Spain.

The increase, however, has been notable in the last week (2,499 infections were registered on Friday, the highest number since April, and 23 deaths) and new measures will be taken.

The Government has decided to extend the state of alarm until January 31 and establish the obligation to wear a mask throughout the day in public places and on the street.

The outbreaks grow in different parts of the country, especially in the region of Lazio (Rome) and Campania (Naples), areas that were hardly hit in the months of March and April.

But the regions of Piedmont or Abruzzo bear the worst, where the contagion index has once again been too high.

The week of September 21-27 there were 3,266 active outbreaks in Italy, of which 909 were new.

In the preceding week they were 2,868 and 832, respectively.

The number of hospital admissions has gone from 2,365 to 2,845;

the number of patients in the ICU is also increasing: from 222 to 254. Most of the outbreaks continue to occur in the family, but problems are also beginning to be detected in schools (there has been at least one positive in 917 of them).

The Government, through the mouth of its prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, now also considers "a moral obligation" that citizens download the application that facilitates the tracking of infections.

The mask has become mandatory since Saturday in the Lazio region, which had also established the flu vaccine by law (the appeal court has revoked it) to avoid hospital collapses and confusing diagnoses between the common flu and covid-19 .

“We are not at the red light yet.

But amber has just appeared ”, said the Minister of Regional Affairs, Francesco Boccia, in

.

"If the hospitals began to fill, we could have to return to the measures of limitation of personal freedom," he said regarding the possibility of returning to selective confinement.

The situation in schools worries the Government.

For this reason, it has ordered the production of five million rapid tests such as those already used in airports for travelers from countries at risk from covid-19 (such as Spain or France) so that they can be used in schools and avoid confinements entire classes through rapid detection.

In the Lazio region, they have also chosen to buy a million salivary tests, which are less aggressive and can be used with younger children.

The positive aspect regarding the months of March and April is that the curve grows much more slowly, the number of tests is much higher and the infections are distributed throughout the territory.

A fact, experts believe, that invites us to think that hospital collapse will not be reached in certain regions, as happened at the beginning of the pandemic.

Information about the coronavirus

- Here you can follow the last hour on the evolution of the pandemic

- This is how the coronavirus curve evolves in Spain and in each autonomy

- Download the tracking application for Spain

- Search engine: The new normal by municipalities

- Guide to action against the disease