and now the government stops at school in january

The fate of Italians’ Christmas will be decided today, between the national red zone or the orange zone on holidays and the days leading up to holidays from December 23-24 to January 6. However, there is no rush for next weekend: “It is too late and too unpopular to intervene now,” says a minister.

Precisely for this reason, the Christmas repression will be preceded, as suggested by the Scientific Technical Committee (CTS), by a “tightening of controls” to avoid crowds in shopping streets and in front of shops, shopping centers and nightclubs last weekend. Also, given the trend of the epidemic far from reassuring (yesterday another 846 deaths), the intention to reopen secondary schools on January 7 is destined to evaporate.

The roadmap to the new grip is complex. This morning Minister Francesco Boccia will meet with the Regions, from which he hopes to have support for the hard line. Then, at 12.30 pm, a new summit will be held between the heads of delegation that promises to be anything but peaceful. On the one hand, there is Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, supported by Renziana Teresa Bellanova, who shares the need for a “tightening of measures” to prevent an increase in infections. But he says, “concerned about the psychological and social stability of the country”: “Italy would not endure a new generalized blockade.”

Conte, in short, would not go beyond the orange zone at the national level, with bars, restaurants and closed municipal borders, but with open shops (also not to ruin the launch of the cash-back plan) and with the possibility for citizens . leave home and, although it contravenes the “strong recommendation” not to hold meetings between groups of “non-cohabiting” relatives, celebrate Christmas together. The proof: the prime minister speaks only of “some tweaks” and “some additional measures”, arguing that with “the current system we are containing the epidemic well.”

“COUNT POPULIST”
A cautious line, “impregnated with populism” according to a Democratic exponent, rejected by the “rigorist” front in which Roberto Speranza (Salute), Boccia and the head of delegation of the Democratic Party Dario Franceschini are deployed. For the three ministers, the best solution would be the red zone, where you cannot leave your home except for necessity, work or emergency. This is to avoid, in fact, that during the holidays the lunches and afternoons with bingo and panettone among non-living family groups trigger a new avalanche of deaths and infections. A repression that should be applied on holidays 12-13 and days before holidays that go from December 23-24 to January 6-7. A position that Speranza illustrated to Conte last night in a face-to-face night in which the prime minister reiterated and defended the less rigorous line.

That the purpose of those who want the red zone is precisely to avoid infections in the family (they are 80%) and “to preserve the elderly”, Boccia said bluntly to “Di Martedì”: “And it is useful and necessary to restrict even more during holidays. Hypothesizing meetings is crazy. Assuming dinners on partners is wrong. We have a duty to save lives. The dinners will be held next year. “Then explain the reason for the line of” maximum prudence “:” In May we had reached the contagion rate of 0.5 Rt, but we had June, July and August ahead of us. Now, thanks to the measures already taken, we are going this way, but we are facing January, February and March and we must be responsible for ensure health networks ”.

The “rigorist” front hoped that the CTS report would have a solid side to be able to urge the national red zone. A request that would have even saved Conte, who could have said, as in the past, “let’s do this because the technicians imposed it on us.” But the CTS decided, after a long battle, that “the government must take political responsibility for the election.”

A non-interventionist line that unleashed a long internal battle, to the point of sanctioning a sensational split in the CTS (the experts of the Ministry of Health, Achille Iachino, Andrea Urbani and Giovanni Rezza had threatened not to sign the report), which was repaired only when the phrase was added in the final document: “Contagion containment measures must be tightened.” However, the technicians did not point to the red zone as the best solution, as the emergency commissioner Domenico Arcuri also wanted.
When reading the report of the Committee against the light, the executive is in any case pushed by the experts to adopt at least the national orange zone, or the red one.

HIGHER RISK
The fate of the secondary schools, which according to the plans of Conte and Minister Lucía Azzolina, should resume on January 7 with teaching in the presence of at least 75% of the students, will be decided later. But it appears already marked. Giovanni Rezza, Speranza’s right-hand man, believes that “it is still too early to say if we can reopen the schools.” Explanation: “We need to keep viral circulation low. But sadly, despite having had some successes, the incidence of new cases remains high. This is the crucial point: as long as we do not significantly lower the incidence, it is difficult to speak of a complete resumption of all activities. They confirmed to the CTS: “At this rate, going back to school is a difficult undertaking.” At the end of the day, Minister Azzolina herself says that “it will be decided at the end of the year”, the regional governors are against it and doubts are growing among the leaders. Meanwhile, the work of the prefects is progressing with difficulty to stagger the entrance times to schools and have more means of public transport.

Last update: 12:38


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