Italy was the first country in Europe to be hit with full force by the corona pandemic.
The second virus wave does not pass without a trace either.
Munich / Rome - There were frightening images that you couldn't get out of your head anytime soon.
The first coronavirus * wave hit
Italy
with full force in the spring and brought the health system to its absolute limit.
In the Italian city of
Bergamo,
for example, military transporters transported countless Covid-19 deaths from the city.
There was no more room to be found in the crematoria.
A few months later, Italy caught the
second wave
- with consequences.
Coronavirus in Italy: Second wave does not pass without a trace
Since the beginning of November alone, Italy has registered more than 25,000 Covid-19 deaths.
That corresponds to as many as before in the period from April to the end of October.
On Saturday (December 12th), Italy
overtook
Great Britain
as the country with the most Corona * deaths in
Europe
.
The authorities announced in relation to more than 600 new deaths.
The pandemic-stricken Great Britain had long had the highest number of victims.
Since the pandemic started, Italy has recorded 64,036 deaths as of Saturday (December 12, 2020).
Italy also tops this statistic in Europe on Monday with a total of 65,420 Covid 19 deaths
(source: Johns Hopkins University)
.
It is followed by Great Britain (64,267 deaths), France (58,015), Spain (47,624) and Russia (46,846).
Globally, only the
USA
,
Brazil
,
India
and
Mexico are
more severely affected by the pandemic.
Vaccine hope in Italy - but a number of people are pushing their way through Rome
In Italy, too, great hopes are placed in the
vaccine.
While vaccinations have already started in Great Britain, Italy and Germany are still waiting for approval.
Rome wants to start with a first
vaccination phase in
mid-January, the government said.
Around 1.87 million people will then be vaccinated.
It starts with medical staff and in old people's homes.
The vaccination of the anti-Covid syringes, which should start with the vaccine from the Mainz-based pharmaceutical company Biontech and its US partner Pfizer, could be postponed a bit, according to media reports.
That depends, for example, on the approval process.
Italy is also counting on an early approval
for the product of the
US group Moderna
.
Despite the sharp rise in the number of deaths, numerous restaurants and bars were allowed to reopen on Sunday in many parts of the country.
The reason for this was the falling number of new infections.
In
Rome,
for example, there were quite a few people bustling about in a shopping street.
As the pictures show, they wore masks - but little can be seen from a distance.
The Italians seem to be walking close together through the street.
+
Despite the corona pandemic, many Italians in Rome shopped in a dense crowd.
© Vincenzo PINTO / AFP
Around five weeks after the establishment of three risk zones and a
partial lockdown,
there are no longer any regions classified as red zones.
Health Minister
Roberto Speranza
ordered the
defusing of the
corona barriers
.
For the
Christmas season
, Rome has again issued strict travel restrictions from December 21st.
Some regions and the opposition are calling for easing.
In Germany, however, a tough lockdown was decided.
The situation in the clinics is "dramatic".
* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen digital editorial network
(mbr / dpa)