The law that will establish the definitive abolition of the quarantine for Covid-19 positives is on its way. It could land in the Council of Ministers already Monday 7th Augustthe date on which the heads of departments will meet for the last time at Palazzo Chigi before going on holiday.
The measure in question should be part of a new Omnibus decree, which will cover a wide range of key issues for the country’s development. Other relevant measures include the approval of the Italian “Chips Act”, which provides for the raising of the electromagnetic limits for 5G in telecommunications, new safeguards against the price increases of airline flights, rules on non-performing credit transactions and the establishment of the Italian digital wallet.
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The Minister of Health, Orazio Schillaci, declared that isolation is now a measure “anachronistic», announcing the country’s imminent change of strategy: from next Monday onwards, Covid in Italy could be treated as a simple flu.
Contagions on the rise
The abolition of isolation for new Covid positives undoubtedly represents a further step towards a complete return to normalcy.
The measure is based above all on the progressive attenuation of the symptoms of the virus on the infected, thanks in particular to vaccinations and to the more “mild” effects of the variants.
However, just in the past week, the contagion curve has shown some signs of an increase: according to the latest weekly bulletin of the Ministry of Health – published today on Friday 4 August 2023 – they have been registered 5,732 new cases in Italy, during the week from Friday 28 July to Thursday 3 August 2023compared to 4129 in the previous seven days.
Il positivity rate found by swabs rose to 4,1% (+1.2% compared to the previous survey. The data on deaths also increased: there were 41, in the week considered, compared to only 25 in the one between 21 and 27 July. As regards the statistics on shelters, these are increasing only as regards the departments normal Covid wards: 102 more compared to the previous week. There are no substantial changes, however, in intensive care. In short, Covd is no longer scary, but it hasn’t been completely defeated yet.
The new vaccination campaign: what it will be like
This change does not mean that all preventive measures will be abandoned. Together with the abolition of isolation, Palazzo Chigi is also working on a new vaccination campaign against Covid. Immediately after the launch of the next omnibus decree, the Ministry of Health will send the Regions a circular for autumn vaccinations.
The campaign will start between October and November: it will not impose obligations but it will limit itself to recommending vaccinationin particular for the over 65s and the most fragile patients. The updated drugs will be used – probably still Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax – against the Xbb variant, which is currently the most widespread. The doses are expected by the end of September. It will be a different campaign from the previous ones also as regards the spaces used: le pharmacy they studies of family doctors they will replace the large vaccine hubs.