ROME. Three red days for the Easter holidays. The anti-Covid decree will be passed in the Council of Ministers and will remain in force from Monday until April 6. That of 2021 will be an armored Easter, with the tightening expected at the national level from 3 to 5 April. The curfew remains unchanged: at home from 10 pm to 5. With 250 infections per 100 thousand inhabitants, the red zone is triggered. From March 15th to April 6th the yellow zones change to orange.
Movements
From 15 March to 2 April and 6 April (3, 4 and 5 is the national red zone), in the orange regions “it is allowed, in the municipal area, to move to a single inhabited private house, once a day”, among 5 and 22, “and within the limits of two more people than those already living there, in addition to minors under the age of 14 over whom such persons exercise parental responsibility and disabled or non self-sufficient people living together”, reads the draft decree law submitted by the government to the Regions. On 3, 4 and 5 April, for the Easter holidays, “the red zone of a national character, naturally except for the regions in the white zone”, the Minister of Health, Roberto Speranza, told local authorities (Regions, provinces, municipalities) , illustrating the new restrictive measures. With the automatic lockdown at the threshold of 250 cases out of 100mil, 14 regions are at risk. Calabria and Lazio in the balance. At Easter and Easter Monday, visits to the region are ok. One per day for 2 people with children under 14. Lockouts are coming for bars and restaurants, closing of schools and restrictions for shops, hairdressers and beauty centers.
No to transfers between regions
Extension of the stop to mobility between Regions at least until 6 April. Closed schools but (perhaps) not for everyone, given that in the field there is the possibility of leaving them open for small groups starting with disabled students and afternoon openings are being considered.
Yes to visits to the region
“On April 3, 4 and 5 (including Easter and Easter Monday), the measures established for the red zone are applied throughout the country, with the exception of the regions whose territories are located in the white zone.” “In the same days, in the regional context, it is allowed to move” to a single home once a day for two people under the age of 14.
Refreshments
“Unfortunately we are facing numbers that impose further restrictions. But the refreshments are launched promptly, simultaneously with the measures: otherwise we risk serious social tensions. It is also fundamental to give guarantees on the safety of vaccines, ”said the president of ANCI, Antonio Decaro, during the meeting.
Provincial measures
From the president of the Conference of the Regions, Stefano Bonaccini “positive judgment” on the decree law that the government is preparing to pass, “also because it allows us presidents to take provincial measures”. And the governor of Emilia-Romagna adds: «The virus is expanding, restrictive measures today, to save the summer. The sooner we do them the better. Maximum caution and prudence are required ». “Yet Christmas should have taught us something: we made a generalized lockdown going from orange to red, then back to orange and so on, causing a great confusion and failing to enforce it – comments the head of Infectious Diseases of the Hospital. San Martino di Genova, Professor Matteo Bassetti-. And now we plan to propose it again at Easter. Unfortunately this is Italy and we have to make a point of it. If things are worse than in other countries, ask yourself why this is happening. Italy was the first Western country to face the pandemic, but it will also be the last to get out of it ».
Sos index of contagion
The national contagion index (Rt) rose to 1.16. “We are touching 250 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants,” warned the president of the Higher Institute of Health Silvio Brusaferro describing a rapidly rising epidemiological curve. «We were very superficial with respect to this situation and we also came long with the decision of the red zone. I hope, as Raffaele Donini, the councilor of the Emilia-Romagna Region for Health Policies, said, that it will be extended to the whole region “, observes Claudio Vagnini, director general of the University hospital of Modena, commenting on the diffusion of the epidemic in the Emilia area. And he warns: «If we do not take precise and important measures, we will carry on this situation for months and months. We have to go resolutely towards closure and impose it without thinking about nonsense, like leaving Easter free. Because in a situation like this, there is nothing, not even holidays. Now we are paying the consequences of the discussion at the end of the year on Christmas: it was a not very responsible attitude on the part of everyone ».
Acceleration in vaccinations
The informal meeting was held by videoconference, between the government, the Regions, the Anci and the Upi on the new anti-Covid measures. The executive was attended by the ministers of regional affairs, Mariastella Gelmini, and of health, Roberto Speranza. While Agostino Miozzo, Silvio Brusaferro and Franco Locatelli participated for the Technical Scientific Committee (Cts). “In the last two days we have administered about 200 thousand doses every 24 hours and in Italy all the vaccines used are effective and safe: the vaccine is the ‘fundamental weapon we have to overcome this phase ”, explained Minister Speranza during the meeting. Based on the monitoring of the Higher Institute of Health, relative to the first week of March (Rt higher than 1), today the Council of Ministers will enact the new squeeze with a law decree and no longer with a Dpcm, as specified to local authorities Minister Gelmini.
Variants
«The spread of the virus in this phase is decidedly faster, due to the impact of the variants and this makes the choices that the government is preparing to make with a decree law dictated by the epidemiological situation – says Bonaccini -. Beyond the restrictions, today we have one more weapon: vaccines. And from this point of view, the authorization of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is encouraging, which will increase the overall vaccination capacity, but it is important that the government makes our country’s voice heard in Europe, beating its fists on the table so that pharmaceutical companies comply up to I fund the commitments undertaken for the delivery of the doses. Among other things, the encouraging data of the last few weeks are showing that all regions have a much more robust vaccination capacity than the actual availability of doses. It is clear that at this point another type of acceleration is needed in terms of support measures to ensure that the pandemic does not involve serious social and economic implications ». Bonaccini adds: «So there are two fundamental and urgent requests for the next support. Refreshments definitively exceed the Ateco codes regime, are retroactive and the 5 million turnover ceiling is eliminated. The fund for parental leave and vouchers, babysitters, etc., must be urgently refinanced and must also have a retroactive value for all workers. A mighty effort is needed so that those who have been going through very serious difficulties for several months are not really left alone ».
Sos tracking
“If the parameter of the weekly incidence of 250 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants becomes, together with the Rt ad 1.25, the decisive factor for defining the red areas, then it is necessary to provide for a control system that ensures the correct tracing activity”, asked the president of the ‘Upi (Union of Provinces) Michele de Pascale: «The incidence of cases is measured with swabs: it is therefore essential that in all Regions there is a correct tracking activity, with precise standards. Otherwise, those who do fewer swabs will not be evaluated correctly. There is a need to guarantee leave vouchers for families even for those who are at home in smartworking. The care of children and young people must be guaranteed for everyone, or families will not be able to cope with the emergency ».