[ad_1]
Original title: The anti-epidemic experience could not avoid repeating the same mistakes, the increase in deaths in Italy from the new corona disease is worrying
Reference News Network reported on December 14 Foreign media said that due to the failure of the medical and healthcare system to protect the elderly once again, and government authorities delaying the implementation of new restrictions, Italy is regaining a record that no one wants: the highest number of deaths by COVID-19 in Europe.
According to an Associated Press Rome report on December 12, this should not have happened. Italy was the first country in the West to be hit by the new corona epidemic. After experiencing a wave of deaths in the spring, the epidemic was brought under control.
According to the report, when the epidemic fell later, Italy had the advantage of time and experience, and the number of new cases was less than Spain, France and Germany. However, the epidemic has spread rapidly and widely, and Italy has racked up nearly 29,000 new deaths since September 1.
After Italy reported a new record of 993 new deaths in a single day since the outbreak, Guido Rassi, former executive director of the European Medicines Agency, told national television: “Obviously a little thought is needed. “. He said: “This The number of almost 1,000 deaths in a 24-hour period is much higher than the European average.”
Italy reportedly added 649 new deaths on the 12th, bringing the officially announced cumulative deaths to 64,036. According to official data released by the British government, Italy has overtaken the UK. However, statistics released by Johns Hopkins University in the United States on the night of the 12th still show that the cumulative number of deaths in the UK is 64,123, ranking first in Europe. Due to underreported cases, limited evidence, and different statistical standards, both figures are believed to be significantly lower than the actual number of deaths.
The report noted that although Italy has a population of 6 million less than Britain’s 66 million, it is replacing Britain’s position in this shameful ranking, second only to the United States, which has a much higher death toll. and Brazil, India and Mexico. According to statistics from Hopkins University, Italy has the highest number of deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.
Public health officials said that Italy is the second-oldest country in the world, after Japan, and that the elderly are the most vulnerable to the new coronavirus.
The median age of deaths in Italy is reportedly around 80 years old. Furthermore, according to data from the Higher Institute of Health of Italy, 65% of the deaths of the new Italian crown had 3 or more health problems before testing positive, such as high blood pressure or diabetes.
The report noted that doctors attributed the poor response to the epidemic to systemic problems in the Italian health and medical system, especially in Lombardy, where the epidemic was most severe. They noted that private hospitals in Lombardy have developed in recent years, but at the expense of public hospitals. Brain drain and bureaucratic barriers have reduced the number of practicing physicians, while general practitioners complain that although they are the backbone of the medical system, they lack support.
According to the report, the Italian government refused to reimpose the lockdown nationwide this fall because it knew it would have a devastating effect on the economy that had just begun to rejuvenate after the spring close.
On November 3, the government reportedly divided the country into three risk areas and adopted different restrictive measures. But at the time, the number of new cases was doubling every week for nearly a month, and hospitals in Milan and Naples were already overwhelmed.
The report noted that Italy is not prepared for the epidemic. It has fewer ICU beds per capita than the average for developed countries. In recent weeks, investigative news reports have noted that Italy has not updated its influenza preparedness plan since 2006, which may help explain the severe shortage of protective equipment and the confusion of response measures at the outset. of the epidemic.
According to the report, government officials admitted that they were not sufficiently prepared, but insisted that their response to the reappearance of the epidemic was scientifically reasonable and also avoided economic collapse to some extent. The government’s epidemic commissioner, Domenico Alcuri, said on the 10th that the restrictions adopted in November have caused the growth curve of the Italian epidemic to begin to flatten.
On November 22, in Naples, Italy, the commercial facilities of the Umberto I gallery closed due to the epidemic. Published by Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Alberto Lingoria)
