A tourist takes photos of St. Mark’s basilica in Venice on June 03, 2021. (Photo by ANDREA PATTARO / … [+]
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Last week, Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza established a 5-day quarantine for those travelers coming from the UK. So far, the country has recorded less than 1% of cases with the mutation of the virus. These are the basic facts when talking about the Delta variant in Italy, the coronavirus’ variation which is now threatening the containment of the pandemic in the country. According to virologist Fabrizio Pregliasco, interviewed by daily Corriere della Sera, vaccines and high temperatures are helping to contain contagion, so the country can expect a “fairly relaxed summer”, although at the end of the season Italy can expect a UK-like scenario, with an increase in the number of cases. In the meantime, news of cancellations on flight routes between the UK and Italy have caused some frustrations over the past days.
Currently, Italy has 1,197 cases per day and 28 deaths (figures from the past 24 hours), numbers that have been decreasing steadily, now with an average of 19 new cases every 100,000 inhabitants. Overall, since the pandemic’s outbreak, the country has reported 4.25 million cases and registered 127,253 deaths linked to COVID-19, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the eighth-highest in the world, Reuters reports.
Starting next week, the whole country will enter the “white zone”, entailing the least restrictions being imposed, with the exception of Valle d’Aosta, the only region still in a yellow zone. A white zone means that basically all activities will be open, including all bars and restaurants (the only exception are night clubs), and that the curfew is lifted. The government is currently debating the possibility to lift the obligation to wear a mask when being outdoors: a decision should be made next week, and the obligation might be abolished starting from the beginning of July. Politicians like Matteo Salvini and Luigi Di Maio have been pushing in this direction. “We cannot lose any more time, it would be a sign also for tourists willing to come to Italy have to be fully attractive,” said Foreign Minister Di Maio.
With regards to vaccines, at this point 52.67% of the population has been vaccinated (over 30 million people), 26.24% of which have already received a second dose. While verifications have been ongoing regarding the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine and the risks of thrombosis, the government has now authorized a mix of vaccines for the second dose. Moreover, the use of AstraZeneca is now authorized as well for the second dose among younger people, provided that one’s doctor gives the green light. The case about AstraZeneca in Italy comes after a harsh debate following news of an 18-year old girl who died after the jab. Initially, the Ministry of Health had established that all those under 60 years of age that received a first vaccine dose with AstraZeneca would need to get a different vaccine for the second dose, either Moderna or Pfizer. Now both options are allowed. According to a number of studies, heterologous vaccination makes the vaccination coverage stronger.
“First of all, to get vaccinated is essential. The worst thing to do is to not get vaccinated, or to only get a single dose. Secondly, the heterologous vaccination works. I myself made a booking to do it. I am more than 70 years old and my first AstraZeneca dose gave me low antibodies, so they recommended me to do it. Thirdly, if someone who is less than 60 years old had a first AstraZeneca jab and was offered to do heterologous vaccination but they don’t want to, they are free to get a second dose of AstraZeneca, as long as they get their doctor’s opinion and get an informed consent. A well informed consent. The worst thing of all is not getting a second dose,” explained prime minister Mario Draghi in a press conference.
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Finally, with regards to the so-called ‘Covid passport’, like other European countries Italy is waiting for the EU Digital COVID Certificate to enter into force starting July 1st. The certificate, which will state either in a paper or digital form that someone has got a vaccine, has recovered from the virus or has a negative test, is meant to make traveling between European countries smoother, and might also soon be available to Americans. In the meantime, in Italy a national green pass is available for events such as weddings and other celebrations involving large groups of people. Similarly to the European certificate, the green pass allows for recognition of one out of these three conditions: either having been vaccinated, having recovered from Covid-19, or having done a negative test within 48 hours.
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