With infections and hospitalizations on the rise, Italy will turn yellow again at Christmas. A color change with no concrete impact on the lives of citizens (since the rules in the white and yellow areas are the same apart from the obligation to wear a mask even outdoors) but which is worrying as it reveals an increase in hospitalized Covid patients. Friuli Venezia Giulia will be joined in the yellow zone by Alto Adige starting from Monday 6 December. But also Veneto and Calabria could “retreat” within a couple of weeks. And Lombardy and Lazio are also at risk.
Friuli Venezia Giulia at orange risk
The first to turn yellow is the Northeast. Friuli Venezia Giulia led the way. Here the situation is so serious that the thresholds for admissions to intensive care (10%) and to ordinary wards (15%) have been largely exceeded, triggering the yellow zone. With resuscitations at 14% and other wards at 23%, the region could even end up in orange during the Christmas holidays.
Province of Bolzano in yellow from 6 December
From Monday 6 December (date of entry into force of the Super Green pass throughout the national territory) it is certain that South Tyrol will also pass into the yellow zone. This was communicated by the councilor for health Thomas Widmann, who specified: “It does not change much in terms of rules, but if we do nothing we will become orange and red”. In the autonomous province of Bolzano, the tightening had already been anticipated in recent days by an order of President Arno Kompatscher, who introduced the obligation to wear an outdoor mask and FFP2 protective device on public transport, as well as the closure of discos. Discos that according to national legislation (the new decree 172/2021) will be reopened, even if only to holders of “reinforced” green pass (vaccinated or cured by Covid).
Vaccinations restarted, but Alto Adige remains penultimate
In recent days, the vaccination campaign in South Tyrol has finally taken off, with long queues in front of the hubs, especially for boosters, but also for the first doses. It seems that the undecided and the waiters are convincing themselves, perhaps to have the Super Green pass, perhaps because they are frightened by the Omicron variant. But the autonomous province of Bolzano remains in the penultimate place in Italy for vaccination rate (only Sicily is worse), with 78.8% of over 12 immunized (compared to an Italian average of 84.6%) and the 16.8% of the population who have not received any dose yet.
Veneto towards yellow in a couple of weeks
Still remaining in the North East, in a couple of weeks Veneto should also end in yellow, with intensive care at 10% and ordinary hospitalizations up to 8%. Governor Luca Zaia directly raised the alarm (“We are at high risk”). Not only. According to Zaia “it is likely that, if it continues like this, all of Italy, or almost all of Italy, will turn yellow in the next few weeks”.