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It looks like a bad movie that you’ve already seen. First the alarm: one identified in London variant more contagious than Covid-19. Hence the decision of Chancellor Luigi Di Maio to close all flights from England (but only those from England and not those from Holland and Denmark despite the certainty of their circulation in those countries). Then the cold shower (after a few hours): the mutation is already present in Italy, the doctors of the Celio military hospital have sequenced the genome of the new version in a patient. Finally, the usual debate among virologists who are divided between those who believe that it will not affect the effectiveness of the vaccine and those who fear that it could put it at risk.
The new variant of Covid-19
This morning, I spoke with Good Morning at SkyTg24, the president of the Higher Health Council (Css), Franco Locatelli, congratulated the government for blocking the way to British flights “in an extraordinarily timely manner”. But was it really like that? The decision, as we know, came yesterday afternoon after Boris Johnson had opted for a new total lockdown in the last hours in order to stop the new variant of Covid-19. “It is not possible to ignore the transmission speed of the new variant – explained the prime minister – when the virus changes its method of attack, we must change our defense method.”. Than a new way of coronavirus much more aggressive, had been known at least since the beginning of December. On December 14, Health Secretary Matt Hancock admitted that some sixty local authorities had already registered Covid-19 infections caused by this new variant. Not only. On that occasion, Hancock also announced that not only the scientists at the Porton Down laboratory had already begun to carry out new and detailed studies but that the dossier had been timely sent to the World Health Organization (WHO). Asked about the matter the same day, during a press conference in Geneva, Mike Ryan, head of emergency operations of thewho, had put his hands on explaining that “Many different variants of coronavirus have been reported”. English, therefore, was one more to watch. “Now the question is – said Ryan at that time – is it widespread internationally? Does it make the virus more serious? Does it interfere with drugs and vaccines? At the moment we do not have information in this regard – he concluded – so it is important study this variant, understand if it is significant “.
Boris Johnson’s silences
The news had also circulated in the Italian press. On December 14 he had also realized ilGiornale.it explaining that the most affected area was the Southeast (two days later it will be subject to stricter restrictions, those of level 3) and that it had infected at least a thousand people. “To date there is no evidence that he behaves differently from the others already known”, explained Maria Van Kerkhove, of the WHO, ensuring that the practice had been entrusted to the Virus Evolution Working Group within the broader study of the mutations discovered in visoni in different parts of the world. Chapter closed. Until December 19, when Johnson called an emergency meeting with his cabinet. What concerned him were the conclusions reached by the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threat Advisory Group (Nervtag) after analyzing data from preliminary models of the new variant and rapidly increasing incidence rates in the Southeast. The measures were immediately raised from “level 3” to “level 4”, establishing a “super red zone” to limit even family gatherings. From that moment on, the news has also begun to circulate in the Italian press and to arouse some interest on the part of the Conte government. However, what Johnson did not say in that emergency meeting is that, as it reveals Walter Ricciardi in an interview with Delivery courier, had been aware of this threat for at least three months. “What annoys me is that the British already knew since September that this variant was in circulation”, denounces the adviser to the Minister of Health Roberto Speranza. “They were silent, they did not warn us …”. According to virologist Andrea Crisanti, the British version of Covid-19 “appeared in Spain” last summer and “From there, probably due to tourist flows, he moved to Great Britain”. However, no one can tell us yet why it has spread differently.
Italy late measures
In Europe, the first state to suspend flights from England it was Holland. The decision came on Saturday morning. At the same time, Belgium did the same, also stopping rail connections with Great Britain. However, it was late: in addition to the UK, the variant was now circulating in Australia, Denmark and the Netherlands. For this reason, when Di Maio decided yesterday morning to suspend only flights from England, the measure appeared late and useless. Exactly as it had been when last January he decided to block the planes coming from Wuhan without thinking about it, rebuilt in Coronavirus Black Book (click here), that Chinese citizens could stop over in other countries and therefore reach Italy in another way. “Closing flights with the UK is a good measure if all other countries do so; in fact, Ricciardi noted in the interview with Delivery courier – if only one does it, you don’t need it, you have to do it throughout Europe “. Not only. Having already discovered the first patient infected with the English variant, one wonders how many people may have already arrived in Italy from the countries indicated by the WHO as incubation sites for the “mutated” Covid 19. According to an estimate of Newspaper, we are dealing with about 45 thousand possible “spreaders”. Not a few given the speed with which the new spreads virus.
