Italy evaluates declaring the whole country in a “high risk zone for COVID-19” during the weekends

The Government of the Italian Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, is considering the possibility of declaring the entire country a high-risk “red” zone, at least on weekends, to counteract an increase in the coronavirus pandemic.

“The second wave has never stopped. We are seeing a very strong rebound due to variants, which is leading us to take increasingly restrictive measures “, explained the Minister of Health, Roberto Speranza.

Speranza did not rule out turning all of Italy into a red zone at least on weekends, and a tighter curfew. “It is clear that we are going to examine the epidemiological situation, adapting the measures, given the variants”, he declared.

Italy has a three-tier system that classifies regions at low, medium and high risk according to the number of cases. The system implies bar and restaurant closures, and strict limits on people’s movements that prevent them from leaving their city or town.

Several regions have already closed schools and the variants are spreading more rapidly among young people.

Among the measures being considered by the Government and a panel of medical and scientific experts, is automatic conversion of regions into red zones if they exceed the threshold of 250 weekly virus cases per 100,000 inhabitants, as well as the closing of shopping centers during the week.

The possible measures would come into force in the middle of this month and would last three or four weekends.

On the other hand, Speranza commented on television Rai3 what expect the declaration of more “red” zones in Italian regions in the coming weeks, before noting, as regards the field of vaccines, that Italy is open to working with the Russian authorities “to reinforce production” of the vaccine Sputnik V, once the European Medicines Agency determines that the vaccine is “safe and secure”.

“I am not interested in the nationality of the scientists who work in it”, he declared.

The UK strain of COVID-19 is now dominant in the country and cases are rising again from two-month highs.

Italy reported on Saturday about 23,600 new coronavirus infections in the country and about 310 deaths a day after passing the three million affected since the start of the pandemic and about to reach the 100,000 deceased.

The country has so far administered 5.29 million doses of vaccines, with 2.7% of the population fully vaccinated.