How Italy manages to contain the second wave of coronavirus

Coronavirus has

many lives in Italy -

• Europe has been facing, since the beginning of September, the second wave of the coronavirus epidemic, which has already killed more than a million people worldwide.

• If Italy was one of the European countries most affected during the first wave, it is now the one that is doing the best with less than 2,000 cases of contamination per day, against 10,000 on average in France and in Spain.

• Restrictive measures, more efficient testing strategy, traumatized population… “20 Minutes” takes stock of the Italian exception.

If Europe is currently facing the second wave of the coronavirus epidemic, Italy is an exception, with less than 2,000 daily cases of contamination, thanks to strict measures put in place for several months and welcomed. by the WHO last week.

“Italy was the first Western country to be strongly affected by Covid-19.

The government and the community, at all levels, have risen to the task and reversed the trajectory of the epidemic with a series of measures based on scientific data, ”said the World Health Organization (WHO), this Friday, on his Twitter account.

#Italy 🇮🇹 was the first Western country to be heavily affected by # COVID19.

The government & community, across all levels, reacted strongly & turned around the trajectory of the epidemic with a series of science-based measures.

This video tells the story of 🇮🇹's experience.

pic.twitter.com/ZjGNAuZnyl

- World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) September 25, 2020

First country affected, first country to react

Although very hard hit during the first wave of the coronavirus epidemic, the peninsula seems to be doing well in recent weeks.

While France (8,051 cases in the last 24 hours) and Spain (10,799) have recorded, on average, nearly 10,000 daily cases of contamination since the beginning of September, in Italy, the number of daily contagions remains quite low.

How to explain this Italian specificity?

According to specialists, the strict measures taken by the Italian government have made it possible to contain the circulation of the virus.

“The epidemic struck Italy earlier, which was very aware of this problem and immediately put in place a very severe containment plan.

Italy was the first European country to implement a total closure that lasted several weeks (…) and we are still benefiting from it ”, explained Professor Massimo Andreoni, renowned infectious disease specialist at the Roman hospital of Tor Vergata in AFP, highlighting "the very gradual and very slow reopening of the country, which is not even finished yet".

Restrictions reimposed

“The government did not hesitate to reinstate restrictions that had been lifted.

And since the deconfinement, many Italians continue to respect the measures put in place during confinement, ”detailed Ludmila Acone, researcher at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, specialist in contemporary Italy, to

.

And for good reason, the stadiums have still not reopened, the discotheques were closed again in August, the bars and restaurants are operating with very severe measures and the school did not resume until September 14, i.e. two weeks. after France.

Since August 16, wearing a mask is now compulsory in all Italian public places where "group formation" can occur, from 6 pm to 6 am.

This device has even been reinforced in certain regions, such as Campania and the city of Genoa, where the mask has been compulsory everywhere since September 24.

The other asset of Italy is the tests.

If the peninsula tests less than France - 120,000 tests per day in Italy against 180,000 in France - its strategy seems more effective.

In Italy, the population can be screened with PCR tests, but also with antigenic and serological tests.

If these last two methods are less reliable, they nevertheless make it possible to have results in thirty minutes and therefore, to isolate the contaminated people much more quickly.

"The country is managed by province, and this is an advantage for them because they can trace cases much more easily, province by province," added Carine Milcent, CNRS researcher and health systems specialist with

.

A traumatized population

And if Italy has succeeded in containing the spread of the virus, it is also because its population has followed the instructions to the letter.

“It has often been said that Italians are unruly, but that is not true.

There is a very important civic sense in Italy.

The restrictions were applied and respected ", justified Ludmila Acone, adding that" the population itself was very much in demand for these measures ".

The specialist in Italy also points to the trauma of the first wave of the epidemic: “In Italy, the shock was immense.

The Italians all remember the images of the army sending convoys to evacuate the corpses.

They don't want to relive it.

"

For the Italian doctor and academic Walter Ricciardi, former representative at the WHO, it is "the immediate and rigorous, even disciplinary, alignment of the vast majority of Italian citizens" that has enabled the country to avoid a second wave. dramatic.

“I know that Italy does not have an image of a harsh country.

But this misconception underestimates an essential element: in emergency situations our fellow citizens have proved that they know how to face problems with firmness and a certain sense of sacrifice, ”he explained to our colleagues from

.

The epidemic is far from over in Italy.

"We will have to look at the figures in several weeks, especially after the resumption of school," warned Ludmila Acone.

The start of the school year being postponed in Italy, it will be necessary to wait several more weeks to see if the peninsula manages to maintain a low circulation of the virus or if it will finally reach a balance sheet similar to that of its French and Spanish neighbors.

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