Rome (AFP)
New cases of the coronavirus, which has so far mainly affected northern Italy, have been detected in Tuscany (center) and Sicily (south), authorities announced on Tuesday, hosting a meeting of ministers of Health of neighboring countries to adopt common rules.
These confirmed cases are however few: Tuscany has two in Florence and Pistoia, and Sicily only one, a tourist from Bergamo (Lombardy, north-west) who was in a hotel in Palermo and whose husband was tested negative. The group with which she was traveling was quarantined, but only people from the hotel who had contact with the tourist were placed in solitary confinement.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte admitted on Monday that a malfunction in a local hospital had favored contagion.
- "At our doors" -
"There was management at the level of a hospital structure that was not completely appropriate (...) and that certainly contributed to the spread", he deplored to explain the spread of the virus in Italy, the European country the most affected and the third in the world after South Korea and China.
The main focus of the epidemic has been identified in Codogno, near Lodi, 60 km south of Milan. It was in this locality of 15,000 inhabitants that Mattia, a 38-year-old executive considered as "patient 1", was hospitalized last Wednesday, from which the majority of cases recorded in Lombardy ensued.
The other most affected area is Veneto (Venice region) with 38 cases (+5 compared to Monday), where the very first death of an Italian (and European) national was recorded on Friday.
Ahead of a meeting between Italy and its neighboring countries, the Prime Minister warned that "restrictions" on the free movement of Italians from foreign states would be "unjust" and "unacceptable".
"We cannot accept it," he said. "Italy can let its citizens travel peacefully because we are a country which has taken effective measures and which has an excellent health system".
Four border countries will participate in the meeting as well as Croatia (maritime border), Germany, the European Union and a team from WHO (World Health Organization). The aim is to define "common lines of action" in the face of the epidemic, while European countries have so far reacted in dispersed order.
France has issued a series of recommendations for people returning from northern Italy, in particular asking them to avoid "any unnecessary trip". These recommendations relate to the 14 days following the return, a period deemed sufficient to cover the incubation period of the virus.
The coronavirus epidemic "is on our doorstep," warned French Minister Olivier Véran on Tuesday before leaving for Rome. "We are not closing the borders because it would not make sense".
London also asked its nationals returning from these areas to remain isolated at home and to make themselves known to the health services.
- "Impossible mission" -
A sanitary cordon has been set up around eleven municipalities in northern Italy with 52,000 inhabitants, placed in strict quarantine. Public places are closed there, except supermarkets and pharmacies on duty.
In several regions and cities like Milan and Venice, all schools are closed, as well as businesses, museums, libraries, and cinemas, only public services remaining open.
The progression of the coronavirus has also led the world of sport to disrupt its programming. Europa League and Italian Championship matches will be held behind closed doors.
One in two Italian cinemas is closed and production of the next installment "Mission Impossible", starring American actor Tom Cruise, has been interrupted in Italy, where three weeks of filming in Venice were scheduled.
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© 2020 AFP