The explosion of Covid-19 cases in China also scares Italy which is the first in Europe to reintroduce , with an order by the Minister of Health Orazio Schillaci, the obligation to swabs at airports to check travelers arriving from the Asian country .
The specter of a return to the darkest times of the pandemic, therefore, reappears and already today Schillaci will report to the Senate on the situation, after having asked Brussels to take similar initiatives "throughout Europe".
Beijing's decision to reopen the borders after three years and the "free everyone" on travel in the midst of the wave that is sweeping the Dragon in fact risk causing a new global disaster . And America too has imposed the obligation to test negative for travelers arriving from China , where in the meantime the lines of sick people are getting longer in front of hospitals and morgues - according to the information filtering through - are collapsing .
THE NUMBERS – The numbers circulating are alarming: according to the British research company Airfinity, to date there are over a million new cases and at least 5,000 deaths a day . And the situation is likely to get even worse.
The decision of the Lombardy Region to start with checks at Malpensa has uncovered the emergency: almost one in two passengers , among those who arrived at the Milanese airport from China on December 26 aboard two flights, tested positive for Covid. An orientation that was then followed by Fiumicino airport. Hence the government's decision which imposed mandatory tests and quarantine for those found positive.
CONTROLS – But obviously it's not just Italy that's worried. Mandatory buffers have already been decided by the USA, India, Japan, Malaysia and Taiwan . While the European Commission has convened the EU Committee for Health Safety for tomorrow morning "to discuss possible measures for a coordinated approach with the Member States and European agencies".
VARIANT ALARM – In his ordinance, Schillaci also ordered the sequencing of the virus , an indispensable measure to guarantee the surveillance and identification of any variants. In fact, the new variants that are developing in China , in addition to the easing of restrictions, would be the reasons for the surge in Covid : in particular the so-called Gryphon, i.e. the XBB, the number one suspect for the increase in cases and hospitalizations. Strengthening of tests and attention to the circulation of the virus are the levers on which the main Italian hospitals are also asking to act, starting from Spallanzani in Rome, and Fiaso, the Federation of hospitals. Tools to put in place in order not to frustrate the return to normality in Italy. In fact, this week there was a further drop of about 10% in hospitalizations and a further easing of the measures is on the way, with the introduction of the short-term quarantine and the reinstatement of no-vax doctors, rules contained in the Rave provision. Even if the data from Lazio are worrying, which has recorded a boom in infections with an increase of 2,250 cases in the last 24 hours: the ratio of positives to tampons has jumped to 17%, over 5 points more than yesterday which was at 11.9%.
(Unioneonline/vl)