Anxiety increased slightly this weekend in Italy in the face of the spread of coronavirus variants and crowds in large cities, favored by particularly good weather.
“I am clearly worried.” Massimo Galli, one of the most prominent Italian virologists, who practices at the Saco Hospital in Milan, said in an interview with the Romanian daily Il Messaggero that the re-emergence of infection is largely due to the English variant.
He added, “To be fair, all data point to an increase in new cases.”
Despite the “stay at home” call Friday by the Higher Institute of Health (ISS), the body responsible for advising the government in the fight against COVID, crowds poured into the streets, parks and waterfronts of several Italian cities to take advantage of it. Of the particularly sunny and mild weather that prevails this weekend on the peninsula.
The city of Naples responded by closing off part of its waterfront, which was stormed by locals, while onlookers swept through the beaches and bars of Ostia, the closest seaside resort to Rome.
In the historic center of the capital, Via del Corso, one of the main shopping streets, has been closed. Same scenes of rallies along the Navigli, canals of central Milan.
In the face of evolving variants on Sunday, three Italian regions classified as “yellow” (moderate risk) were officially changed to “orange” (medium risk): Emilia Romagna (Bologna region, north), Campania (Naples region, south), and region Small Mollies (Medium).
Nine out of the twenty regions are classified as “orange,” and all other regions are “yellow.” The change to “orange” specifically refers to strict restrictions on travel outside her municipality and the closure of bars and restaurants to the public, which can accommodate customers in “yellow” areas until 5:00 PM GMT.
In addition, some regions have created “red” (high risk) areas in parts of their territories, such as Umbria (central), South Tyrol (north) and Lazio (region of Rome), which decided to isolate the municipalities of Collivero and Carpinetto Romano, located at the gates of the Italian capital. “Because of the high incidence of infection and the presence of the English alternative.”
Italy recorded 14,931 new deaths and 251 deaths on Saturday. Since the start of the epidemic, the death toll has reached 2.9 million cases and 95,486 deaths.
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