It will not yet be a summer without Covid: the number of daily infections, this year, marks a sharp increase compared to June 2020 and 2021. If in the first case, in fact, the cases recorded as of June 25 were 296, and the ‘following year 753, yesterday the number of new infections was 55.829slightly down on the previous day, where the figure had reached 56.166. The protagonist of the new wave is the Omicron 5 variant, which went from 16% of cases to 34% in the space of three weeks. But according to what was declared a Republic and Cesare Cislaghiformer president of the Italian Association of Epidemiology, is not to blame for the greater contagiousness of Omicron 5: «The truth is that we have lowered our defenses. I just got off a train with the boys returning from the sea. All carefree, without a mask. The controller didn’t say a word. ”
It increases the RT, but not the lethality of the virus
The new positives, in fact, seem to be above all young people: “It is the effect of sociability and the lack of restrictions”, commented Silvestro Scotti, secretary of the Federation of general practitioners (Fimmg). Unconscious or not, another data is certain: the Rt index, which measures potential transmissibility, exceeded unity for the first time since last April 8, reaching 1.07. According to Cislaghi, “in the coming weeks we will exceed 100,000 cases“. But there is good news, and it is that the increase in infections does not correspond to an increase in deaths: 34 in 2020, 56 in 2021, 51 yesterday. Fausto Baldanti, virologist of the University and San Matteo of Pavia, explained this trend: “The virus has greatly reduced its ability to infect the deep respiratory tract.” Probably also thanks to vaccines, which according to the estimates of the Imperial College of London would have saved 19.8 million lives.
Bassetti: “Omicron has nothing to do with the Wuhan virus”
According to the infectious disease specialist Matteo Bassetti, at this point Omicron «It no longer has anything to do with [il virus, ndr] of Wuhan that spread so much pain “: therefore, he adds provocatively, it would be appropriate to” change his name “. In an interview with The print, the director of the San Martino Polyclinic Hospital in Genoa reminds us that the number of hospitalizations should not alarm us: among asymptomatic, frightened elderly and immunosuppressed in hospital for other causes, “the truly hospitalized for Covid will be 20%”. Bassetti expressed himself in favor of the abolition of the obligation to wear a mask in the workplace and isolation for those who are asymptomatic: “It would also push many undeclared positives to wear the Ffp2 at least indoors, rather than walking around without any protection not to be discovered ».
Hope: “No to new restrictions, but the infected remain at home”
Health Minister Roberto Speranza also expressed, interviewed by Republicreassuring words: for the moment, new restrictions would not be “on the agenda”, although removing the measure of isolation for positives remains out of the question: “Anyone who is infected must stay at home. Today there are 650,000 people in solitary confinement, it is not imaginable that they go around ». In October, the minister promises, the vaccination campaign will restart with autumn calls. Involving as much as possible the local centers – family doctors and pharmacies – and the reopening of some large hub. Vaccines, he adds, “were the”game changer“. They are effective and safe ».