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All the figures are again dramatic, there is great concern about overloaded hospitals: now Lombardy is imposing a ban on crossing the entire region, alone, against the gentler course of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.
Everyone wears masks, even outdoors, but is that enough? Passers-by in front of the Milan Cathedral last weekend.
Photo: Antonio Calanni (AP)
Fear has returned and with power throughout Italy. In Lombardy, in northern Italy, after the recent increase in the number of infections, the regional administration and all the mayors have jointly decided to ask the central government of Rome to impose a ban on passing from 11pm to 5am. The request was granted, probably only the first in a series. Other regions are also wondering how they can get through the winter, such as Campania and Lazio or the regions around Naples and Rome.
Recently, the number of infections has increased by about 10,000 per day nationally, but most of the new infections are in the three largest metropolises. Of course, this is also due to the increase in the number of tests, which are currently around 150,000 a day. But the positivity rate is now 9.4 percent. The incidence per 100,000 inhabitants is also increasing significantly, especially in Milan.
4000 in the hospital at the end of the month?
The objective of the Lombards is now to get people out of the streets and squares who, despite the rapid deterioration of the situation, still cannot see reason. In recent days, for example, on Milan’s Navigli, the city’s favorite promenade, you could still see many young people with alcohol after the official closure of bars and pubs. Italians need the Spanish word “movida” for such anarchic and noisy outings. Well, you can’t afford it anymore.
The regional commission of experts raised the alarm after the figures soared in recent days, especially in the cities of Milan, Monza and Varese. The foci of infection have multiplied so rapidly that it is no longer possible to trace contacts. Now it is feared that the situation in hospitals will spiral out of control, as it did in the acute phase of the first spring wave. With the current course of the epidemic, 4,000 people with Covid-19 could be hospitalized in Lombardy by the end of October, experts say, with 600 patients in the intensive care unit. At the moment there are 113.
Suddenly under fire: Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, here at a press conference in the courtyard of Palazzo Chigi, his official residence in Rome.
Photo: Alberto Lingria (Getty Images)
These days, the ad hoc hospital built with private money will be activated on the site of the old fair. It had hardly served in the spring, at that time it was even debated whether all the effort for its construction was justified at all. Now everyone is happy again for the additional capabilities.
The number of intensive care beds in the country has doubled overall. But Italians know from experience how fast it can go, and suddenly all the beds are taken. In certain hospitals, patients who do not need very urgent treatment are already turned away.
Small steps instead of full steps: Conte’s new policy
The Lombardy solo follows the recent tightening of measures by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s government, which has been criticized by many as “too soft”, including by his alliance partners, the Partito Democratico Social Democrats. In his new decree, Conte surprisingly decided not to introduce a night ban on traveling throughout Italy, following the example of France.
Instead, he invited mayors to decide locally what they perceived here and there as an unacceptable escape from responsibility. Until now, Conte was known for always acting very decisively. Now he is accused of taking steps where big steps are necessary. Apparently there was great resistance from businesses, and especially restaurants, to national regulations. Italy could not afford a second lockdown, Conte said when presenting the new plan. In general: you no longer want to hear the word blocking.
More Home Office and a staggered start to school
How long? First, the government is trying to control the situation with less invasive methods: with more home offices, online lessons at universities, and staggered schooling for the lower grades in order to ease public transportation at peak times. Amateur contact sports are now banned as well. Italians have long worn masks outdoors, day and night. Large open-air events are already limited to 1,000 spectators, in theaters to 200.
But if there is no improvement in two weeks, the prime minister’s ears can no longer avoid the word blockade, one way or another.
