After arriving on “the plateau” of the pandemic Italy puts a plan to “gradually” get out of it
This country, so far the most mourning in the world by the coronavirus recorded Sunday the number of deaths in 24 hours the lowest (525) for more than two weeks.
Apparently arriving on “the plateau” of the pandemic, Italy has not started the descent but is thinking of restarting it with a health plan from the government, which warns that the return to normal is not for tomorrow.
– When can life start again? –
“For the moment, I cannot say when the blockade (of the country) will end. We are following the indications of the scientific committee but Italy was the first nation to face the emergency,” said Sunday on Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte interviewed on the American channel NBC News.
“Our response may not have been perfect, but we have done our best based on our knowledge,” added Mr. Conte, who announced this week that Italy would stay at least until April 13.
The authorities have repeatedly said in recent days, fearing a slackening of behavior with the good weather and the Easter holidays: “we must not lower our guard” against the virus.
“The emergency is not over. The danger has not gone away. We still have a few difficult months ahead of us, let us not spoil the sacrifices made,” health minister Roberto Speranza urged on Sunday. Il Corriere della Sera and La Repubblica.
The objective is to return to normal “as soon as possible”, added the minister without “giving a date”.
And after ? The head of Civil Protection, Angelo Borrelli, who shines the litany of victims every evening, announced Friday that the peninsula would still be confined to the May 1 bridge, before specifying that the decision rested exclusively with the government.
With caution, Mr. Borrelli also mentioned May 16 as a possible date for entering a “phase 2”, synonymous with “coexistence with the virus”, but only “if the evolution (of the pandemic) does not change” .
– With what sanitary measures? –
The Minister of Health exposed on Sunday a five-point strategic plan “to gradually exit” from the pandemic advocating the wearing of a generalized mask, “scrupulous social distancing in living and working places” and a network of hospitals devoting to Covid-19 which will remain open after the crisis to prevent a possible return of the virus.
The government plans to strengthen “local health networks” so that each identified patient can be taken care of from screening to setting up treatment, and testing samples from the population to determine the precise number of people infected.
The executive is finally considering the implementation of a smartphone application, on the South Korean model, both to map the movements of patients diagnosed during the 48 hours before infection and to promote telemedicine so, by for example, to monitor their heart rate and their oxygen level in the blood at home.
– In which order ? –
“Even when the coronavirus cases have fallen to zero, life will not be the same for a long time,” warned this week the president of the Higher Institute of Health (ISS), Silvio Brusaferro.
With the easing of containment measures, the first activities that should resume are those linked to the food and pharmaceutical supply chain. This should also be the case for artisans whose shops see a limited number of people passing by.
Bars, restaurants, nightclubs or sports halls will be the last to reopen and, when the time comes, their owners will have to provide a safety distance of at least one meter between their customers and their staff.
Those wishing to return to Italy – about 200,000 Italians currently according to official figures – will have to put themselves in solitary confinement and present on board an airplane or train a declaration on honor specifying the address where they will have to undergo a quarantine period.
Public transport will have to maintain low traffic, which will be made possible by controllers responsible for enforcing a distance between passengers by using only one seat out of two or by letting a limited number of people ride. on board metro, bus or train trains.
