Lopalco has no illusions about the resumption of the covid epidemic. “Christmas’ A geological era is far away. Schools? Few infections in Puglia”

“From now until Christmas, by the time of a pandemic, there is a geological age. We really can’t know what might happen in so many weeks. We are watching the situation closely.” This was explained by Pier Luigi Lopalco, epidemiologist and advisor of pectore for Health of Puglia, guest on ‘Timeline’ on Sky Tg24

“It is obvious that if the majority of infections remain within the family or the circle of friends – continues Lopalco – those situations should be limited as much as possible. We hope that until Christmas we can keep the curve under control, that there will be no impact on the hospitals and therefore we can spend the winter, Christmas included, with a certain normality. But we cannot expect 100% normality in the coming months “.

On the issue of smartworking, Lopalco is favorable: “It would be appropriate to continue with this method. Most large companies have already adapted. Remember that this is not sloppy teleworking, but rather a way of working that can be very productive for the company”. Regarding schools, however, the return to distance education must “be the last resort. We must also show that the school acts as an amplifier of the virus. And we do not have this evidence,” added the epidemiologist. underlining that “in Puglia we have had very few interscholastic clusters – he adds -. In the province of Bari, with a million and a half inhabitants, of 25 schools affected by the virus, only one has created an outbreak. The others were unique cases. the school functioned as a litmus test that there was some intra-family contagion. Let’s think carefully before making these decisions. If the problem is transportation, let’s focus on solving that problem before sending the students home. “

In any case, Lopalco stated that “the increase in cases and the consequent contact tracing activity is a sign of a significant increase in viral circulation. Territorial structures are working throughout the region 24 hours a day to identify and limit all the outbreaks. We invite all citizens to strictly follow the new rules dictated by the Government – warns Lopalco – to contribute, each one in their own area, to avoid a worsening of the situation “.