Italy recorded 1,210 new cases of coronavirus in twenty-four hours, confirming the clear resumption of the epidemic, closely linked to travel and summer entertainment for holidaymakers, according to an official report published on Sunday 23 August.
Read also: Covid-19: the paradox of an epidemic that progresses without getting worse
There had already been 1071 new cases on Saturday, after 947 Friday, 845 Thursday and 642 Wednesday. Lombardy (Milan region) took the lead again with 239 additional people affected, followed by Lazio (Rome region, with 184 more cases) and the Venice region (+145 cases). The new report from the Ministry of Health reports seven deaths, bringing the total number of victims to 35,437 since the start of the epidemic.
The Italian Minister of Health, Roberto Speranza, ruled out Sunday a general reconfinement of his country, judging that the situation was under control.
Read also: Covid-19: Olivier Véran excludes any re-containment but warns
The country currently has only 18,438 cases, including 69 in intensive care. More than 200,000 people have been cured in recent months.
According to Raniero Guerra, deputy director of the WHO, the increase in positive subjects is explained by an " indisputable " increase but also by " a more developed use of tests ".
Read also: Coronavirus: in France, the incidence rate is increasing sharply
On Sunday 23 August, Italy effectively exceeded the threshold of 8 million tests carried out since the start of the epidemic, with 67,371 additional tests in twenty-four hours. Positivity tests are now compulsory for holidaymakers returning from four countries (Spain, Greece, Croatia, Malta).
On the same day, many of them were also voluntarily undergoing a nasal test in the port of Civitavecchia north of Rome, disembarking the ferries from Sardinia. And for good reason, a third of the new cases identified on Sunday in the region of Rome are linked to stays in Sardinia.
Limit travel between regions
Sign of growing concern, the president of Campania (around Naples) suggested again limiting travel between regions by the start of the school year.
And the president of the Sicily region has defied the government by issuing an order closing all its migrant reception centers, which he considers conducive to the spread of the coronavirus. A declaration of a political nature, because such a decision is the responsibility of the State.
Read also: Is the rise in Covid-19 cases linked to the increase in the number of tests?
The majority of new contagions concern young subjects who have frequented party places in Sardinia or elsewhere, being asymptomatic.
“ We are not sure that very mild symptoms today cannot translate into visible damage in the medium and long term. Better not to catch the virus because there is starting to be strong evidence of problems also appearing with very few symptoms, "Raniero Guerra warned Sunday in the Corriere della Sera newspaper.