Covid cases are also on the rise in Sardinia.
In the week of 22-28 December, according to what the Gimbe Foundation reports in its usual Thursday report, there is once again a worsening performance on the island for cases currently positive for Covid per 100,000 inhabitants (366) and there is a 61.1% increase in new cases compared to the previous week.
The metropolitan city of Cagliari reaches an incidence of 244 positive cases per 100 thousand inhabitants. Nuoro follows with 181, Oristano with 177, South Sardinia with 130 and Sassari with 129. Below the saturation threshold the beds in the medical area (8%) and in intensive care (6%) occupied by Covid-19 patients.
VACCINES - As for vaccines, the Sardinian population that has completed the vaccination cycle is equal to 79.4% (Italian average 78.1%): in absolute terms they are 1,268,975 out of about 1.6 million. To these must be added a further 2.7% (Italian average of 3.2%) with the first dose only.
The booster doses are running: the vaccination coverage rate with the third dose has reached 56.2%, just below the average for the rest of the country which stands at 58.9%. According to some estimates, 80% of herd immunity could be reached immediately after the New Year, given that in the last few days there has been a new boom in administrations (about 16 thousand in the last 24 hours alone) and a rise in the first doses, above 1,200 inoculations per day.
IN ITALY - On the national territory, the week of Christmas saw a surge of more than 80% of new cases of Covid-19, a growth of 20.4% of hospitalized with symptoms and 13% of people in intensive care . Deaths also increased: from 22 to 28 December there were 1,024, with an average of 146 per day compared to 126 in the previous 7 days (+ 16%).
"For two and a half months - explains the president of the Gimbe Foundation Nino Cartabellotta - there has been an increase in new cases, which in the last week has experienced a surge, exceeding 320 thousand, both for the increased viral circulation and for the 'increase in the number of tampons ".
The data "demonstrate a notable increase in viral circulation, both due to the expansion of the Omicron variant, and to the increase in contacts during the holiday period, the impact of which on hospitalizations and deaths will be visible in the coming weeks".
HOSPITALS - On the hospital front, the report reads, the number of beds occupied by Covid patients is still increasing compared to the previous week.
However, there is "a significant reduction in the percentage of patients hospitalized in the medical area and in intensive care out of the total of currently positive ones, which derives from various factors: identification of a greater number of cases, increase in vaccination coverage and third doses, increase in number of people healed and high number of cases in the 0-11 range, less prone to severe forms of the disease. Only, in the next few weeks, it will be possible to evaluate the possible lower virulence of the Omicron variant ".
TABS - In the last two weeks the number of total tampons has gone from 3,750,804 on December 8-14 to 5,175,977 on December 22-28 (+ 38%), due to the increase in both rapid tampons (+38, 7%) and molecular (+ 36.3%). According to Gimbe, "the rush to swabs without rules overloads the testing system, preventing those who really need it from testing with adequate times"; moreover, "the unregulated use of rapid swabs by asymptomatic subjects contributes to fueling false safety, given the 30-50% false negatives. Finally, it favors the expansion of the black market ".
(Unioneonline / D)
