Covid, securing the frail and the elderly and then off to reopening

Mario Draghi is well aware of the “despair” and “alienation” spread throughout the country, as he sets up the work of three crucial weeks for his government. Palazzo Chigi and Montecitorio were besieged for a few hours by a group of demonstrators, including some violent ones, who asked to reopen by parading a few meters from the premier’s office.

Reopening, yes, but safely, is the goal that Draghi – who condemned the violence in the last press conference – is working. The epidemiological data and the trend of the vaccination campaign recorded this week will be crucial to define the date on which we can begin to loosen the grip. A point with Draghi ministers and technicians could make it in the second half of the week. But the premier has already indicated to start planning how to reopen – it is reasoned in ministerial circles – when the time comes, starting with protocols that are not too rigid for activities that are already in great trouble.

It is a job that the Prime Minister carries out in contact with Minister Roberto Speranza but also with Franco Locatelli of the Cts and Commissioner Francesco Paolo Figliuolo. How to enter the vaccination data in the parameters to reopen is one of the topics under study: for sure, government sources observe, there will be no real reopening before having secured the most elderly and frail. Also for this reason it is difficult for the grip of the closures to be significantly relaxed before the end of April. But as of now we are working to study how to allow cinemas and theaters, bars and restaurants, gyms, fairs and events to restart “safely”. The CTS has begun to examine the new protocols for the shows but it is also looking with great attention to a crucial sector in great trouble such as that of tourism.