Circular of the Viminale to the prefectures: stop to the demonstrations in the sensitive places of the cities
ROME. Christmas is approaching, health needs to be protected – with infections continuing to rise – but also GDP. The ‘no green pass’ processions that every Saturday occupy the historic centers of many cities, blocking the shopping streets, are no longer tolerable – is the widespread belief in the Government. “They make us lose 30% of the turnover, unacceptable”, is the alarm cry of the president of Confcommercio Carlo Sangalli. The Interior Ministry is thus working on a circular: stop demonstrations in the most sensitive places for commercial activities and in those at risk of unrest.
A squeeze that has the full support of the head of state. In the last 24 hours there have been 6,032 new Covid positives and 68 victims, data that confirm a progression in the last few weeks with the infected again above the 100 thousand threshold after a month and a half. Intensive care patients continue to grow: 421 (6 more than yesterday) and hospitalized in ordinary wards: 3,536 (+74). Agenas reports a rise – after weeks of stability – in the percentage of intensive care places occupied (from 4 to 5%). Friuli Venezia Giulia and Marche exceed the alert threshold of 10% (they are at 11%), which represents one of the parameters for the passage of a region in the yellow zone.
In seven regions, then, the occupancy of ordinary beds rises, remaining in any case everywhere below the alert threshold of 15% (it is at 6%). On the vaccine front, efforts are being made to speed up third doses. Yesterday 112,527 were made, the third best result since the new phase of the vaccination campaign began. The first doses (18,110) also performed well, achieving the best level of administration since the beginning of November. Immunized people rose to 45.225.703, equal to 76.3% of the population.
The uphill curve of the infection, as well as the cry of alarm of the traders, has imposed a squeeze of the Interior Ministry against the demonstrations. The directives were illustrated by the Undersecretary of the Interior, Carlo Sibilia: they will be granted – he explained – only sit-ins and outside the historic centers; in static events a mask will have to be worn and checks on green passes will be intensified. The prefecture of Trieste has been leading the way in recent days, banning the concession to demonstrators in Piazza Unità d’Italia until December 31, which has now become the scene of protests in the city. In the same way, the other prefects will identify off-limits areas to be protected from protests: historic centers, areas with commercial activities, institutional buildings and ‘sensitive’ buildings.
The indications of the Interior Ministry will in any case leave the prefects themselves margins to adapt them to the various cities, which present different problems. The galaxy No green pass is on a war footing. For Stefano Puzzer, port docker in charge of the protest in Trieste, “all the limitations on people’s freedoms are wrong. We will find out if these directives are legitimate ». If they are, he adds, “we will respect them, otherwise we will oppose them by legal means”. Marco Liccione, spokesman for the ‘Variante Torinese’ movement that has been organizing the protests in Piazza Castello for weeks, argues that “they cannot forbid us from demonstrating. We will read the circular and, for the sake of the people joining the event and out of respect for the traders, we will consider changing the meeting place for Saturday ».
In Milan, the Committee that promotes the marches on Saturday announced the dissolution and consequent stop of negotiations with the police because “after this Saturday, it became impossible for us to sit at the table with those who have locked up hundreds of peaceful demonstrators in a street and treated worse than criminals. ” (HANDLE).