“Is it coming to Italy? There is risk”

Published on: 12/20/2020 3:07 PM

“There is a risk that the British variant of the covid will arrive, the virus has arrived here from China … that is why we have already started all the necessary controls and we are checking what is happening in our country. The battle is still long.” Roberto Speranza, Minister of Health, expresses himself this way for half an hour after the news regarding the identification of a new variant of the coronavirus. Therefore, the Italian government has formalized the stop of flights with the United Kingdom.

“It is a choice that we have decided to make after a confrontation with our scientists. I also listened to the British minister, it is a precautionary measure. A variant of the virus was found in Britain, the British minister said that the dissemination capacity is almost 70% higher. We have decided to stop the flights, other countries will take similar measures in the next few hours. Our scientists will have to investigate, for now we only have contact with the British government and the WHO. The dissemination capacity means that the measures taken in the last days are even more important, ”says Speranza.

“The battle is complicated, we cannot think that it is won. Science is doing an extraordinary job, we still need the maximum rigor and the maximum attention. We know that the virus spreads faster, it does not seem to do more harm to the individual.” But a virus that spreads more quickly can cause more infections and this is still a very serious problem that needs to be addressed. From the first information it seems that vaccines can work equally well in this variant, but more robust information is needed, “he continues.