The Italian Health Minister, Roberto Speranza, announced this Saturday (30) that he will suspend flights from Brazil for another 15 days.
The measure is to prevent the entry of the new strain that emerged in the north of the country.
The Italian Minister of Health, Roberto Speranza, announced this Saturday (30) that will suspend flights from Brazil for another 15 days, to prevent the arrival of the new strain that emerged in the north of the country.
A suspension may be renewed, said a spokesman for the minister. According to Speranza, the decree also prohibits entry into Italy of all people who have been in Brazil in the last 14 days.
The minister announced the decision on Facebook and added that Italy “will continue to monitor the situation cautiously".
Flexibility of measures
Italy decided this Friday (29) to ease restrictions against coronavirus in some regions, despite warnings from public health experts.
Apulia, Sardinia, Sicily, Umbria and the autonomous province of Bolzano will move from Sunday (31) to the “orange” alert level (medium risk), while the rest of the country will move to the “yellow” level, according to the Ministry of Health.
The yellow level allows bars, cafes and restaurants to open during the day and makes circulation between regions more flexible.
Additionally, museums can reopen, but only on weekdays.
The flexibility goes against the general tendency of other European countries to implement more severe measures.
The World Health Organization warned on Thursday that it is “too early” to lift some measures, due to the “still very high” presence of the virus. “Yes, Italy is going against the general trend”, acknowledged Walter Ricciardi, a public health specialist and advisor to the Ministry of Health on the pandemic.
High incidence rate
According to the expert, the restrictive measures adopted in Italy during Christmas and New Year helped stabilize virus numbers, without reducing them.
A Italy is one of the countries most affected by coronavirus, with more than 87.858 deaths and a record recession.
According to GIMBE, a group of independent experts, Italy recorded 799 cases of the virus per 100.000 inhabitants between January 20 and 26 – an incidence rate that indicates lack of control over the epidemic. (With information from AFP)
