Rome
The Italian government has made sure to plan a new closure to stem the outbreak of COVID-19 infections, but as schools prepare to reopen in mid-September, Rome is in danger of failing in its key task of preventing a new wave of pandemics.
As 8.5 million academics prepare to return to school after six months of closure, the central and regional government continues to fight for a plan to save it from a new epidemic that may jeopardize Italy’s social and economic stability.
In response to considerations of the new quarantine measures, Health Minister Roberto Speranza said that, despite the steady accumulation of new COVID-19 instances over the following month, a national blockade is not an option.
But the specter of a momentary wave of contagion resurfaced last week when Italy surpassed 1,000 new cases for two consecutive days, for the first time since mid-May.
At the height of last spring’s outbreak, Italy’s strict quarantine measures, which forced citizens to stay and blocked all major business activities for two months, were credited with containing one of Europe’s worst epidemics.
The pandemic in Italy has claimed more than 35,400 lives to date, bringing the country’s fitness formula to the point of collapse, in the most affected northern regions.
The prospect of a new closure frightens business and Italian leaders, much affected by the closures, who have brought Italy’s already fragile economy to its knees.
“We won’t have a new blockade,” Speranza said recently, and also emphasized that “the Italian national fitness service is much stronger.”
Infections increase
However, new infections in the country have been underway since early August, with experts accusing tourists of returning from high-risk countries and giant gatherings of other people, especially young people, enjoying nightlife without precautions.
Several groups have also sprung up across the country, connected to popular nightclubs and holiday spots full of Italians at the height of the summer season.
On Thursday, Italy’s ministry of fitness recorded a peak of 1,411 new infections, compared to 1,367 the previous day, confirming the increase in cases, which is now 264,000 in total.
Before the start of the summer season, the number of infections was decreasing, even after a partial break from blocking measures, thanks to the widespread compliance of social distance measures and tactile search.
However, the government and experts say that the existing scenario is not comparable to that observed at the height of the pandemic.
They noted that, despite the steady accumulation of infections, the number of deaths and hospitalizations in extensive care facilities remains low.
Higher infections are related to the increased number of swab tests performed daily, much more than in the early stages of the epidemic.
Second wave risks
However, the outbreak of infections is fueling considerations about a wave of moments when Italian schools reopen on 14 September amid heated debate over the complex security measures needed.
Scientists warn that COVID-19 behaves like all other viruses, which reflect less in the summer but return with a higher load than the autumn-winter season.
“The challenge is not with today’s numbers, but with what you can tomorrow,” Anadolu Lorenzo Pregliasco, founder of the YouTrend research company, told the agency. “With the reopening of schools and the great use of public transport, the stage can deteriorate smoothly.”
Preglyasco predicts that if the current trend continues, new infections can “have reasonable success at 1,500 to 2,000 according to the day over the next few weeks.”
Some experts ask whether the government’s strategy will prevent it from resurgence of the virus by the end of next month, when regional elections are also held in Italy, and schools as polling stations will also be held.
“The government has pursued a passive strategy aimed solely at containing outbreaks,” Anadolu Andrea Crisanti, a professor of microbiology at the University of Padua, told the news agency.
Lack of vision
Crisanti, who is credited with the successful strategy of the Veneto region to block the epidemic, said that the coronavirus had not weakened at all in recent months.
Instead, he is in danger of returning with an even greater flow this fall if there is no plan to combat it.
“We deserve to have learned from our experience, acting in advance to avoid a new wave imaginable. But it turns out that we lack a transparent vision and we continue to take anti-scientific approaches,” he added.
While uncertainty prevailed over protection regulations in classrooms, Italian Education Minister Lucia Azzolina focused on offering one-seat desks and forced all students over the age of six to wear masks in public spaces.
Most desks, however, have still been handed over, while principals strive to prepare them for students to return due to a lack of good enough structures.
A series of meetings between the government and regional representatives to adopt a union, failed and more exasperating teachers and parents.
Meanwhile, Italy’s far-right opposition, led by League leader Matteo Salvini, has attacked the government for its handling of the school’s reopening, saying it will present an opposing distrust move to Azzolina to parliament, a move that can shake the entire government.
As the economic crisis is expected to escalate in the autumn, local elections in seven primary regions are a brake on Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.
The Prime Minister has controlled to keep his fragile coalition afloat amid the COVID-19 emergency, however he faces a key policy on September 20 and 21, when 18 million voters go to the polls to elect local passers-by.
According to the latest polls, the right-wing opposition is leading in at least 4 regions, which would be a defeat forged for the conte-led ruling coalition, likely paving the way for a new government crisis.