rumors of an imminent squeeze in Lombardy

At 19 on Friday, a government summit with the majority of heads of delegation began at Palazzo Chigi, following the latest bulletin on coronavirus infections in Italy. On the table is the problem of how to manage primary and secondary schools, without closing them again. Meanwhile, the rumors of new restrictive measures multiply in Campania and Lombardy, where the Rt index is at 2, now totally out of control. It is not excluded that trips outside the region will be limited, except for work reasons and urgent needs (those provided for by the famous self-certification).

Friday newsletter

There are 31,084 new cases of coronavirus in Italy according to today’s bulletin. In the last 24 hours, 199 deaths have been registered, bringing the total number of victims to 38,321 since the beginning of the emergency. Since yesterday, 215,085 swabs have been made.

Intensive care continues to increase, where there are 1,746 people hospitalized. (+95 since yesterday). 325,786 are currently positive (+26,595), 283,567 are cured (+4,285). These are the data processed by the Ministry of Health, available on the Civil Protection website. In terms of individual regions, there are almost 9 thousand new cases in Lombardy (with 368 hospitalizations in 24 hours) and 3,186 in Campania. Veneto also exceeds 3,000 new finds. In Lazio there are 2,246, while the least infected Italian region is Basilicata (+95).

Coronavirus, in Italy cases quadrupled in two months

In two months, Sars-Cov-2 infections in Italy have quadrupled. The prevalence in the period from September 28 to October 27 is equal to 504.17 cases of contagion per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 111.50 per 100,000 in the period from August 29 to September 27. A figure that cannot be explained solely by the increase in swabs performed, which stood at + 60% between September and October. “The infection runs fast – underlines Gianfranco Damiani, associate professor of General and Applied Hygiene – In terms of monitoring the prevalence of the last two months, it is observed that in October, compared to September, it multiplied by 5, with an increase of tampons, in the same period, by almost 60% “.

New lock

A necessity for many, a nightmare for some, a new confinement would have exorbitant economic costs for Italy but it would be the only “solution” – according to insiders – capable of curbing the avalanche of infections by relieving pressure on hospitals. Will Italy have to close again, as happened in March and how are France and Germany already? Giuseppe Conte repeats on all occasions that it takes fourteen days from the introduction of the last Dpcm restrictions to see the effects on infections and hospitalizations. But time is running out and the contagion curve shows no signs of abating.

In some regions, primarily Lombardy, each day that passes is a slow approach to lockdown. There is a risk that the mistake made with Val Seriana will be repeated: there are decisions that can no longer be postponed, including the closure of Milan and its province. Otherwise, the danger is that the entire region will be “isolated”.