ROME (AP) – The coronavirus variant discovered in the UK is widespread among infected schoolchildren in Italy and contributes to fueling a “robust” increase in the COVID-19 contagion curve in the country, the health minister said on Tuesday.
Roberto Speranza told reporters that the variant, associated with higher transmission rates, was ubiquitous “among the youngest age group” of the population.
In recent weeks, Italy’s incidence of new cases among young people has now overshadowed the incidence among the older population, a reversal of how COVID-19 affected residents in the first months of the pandemic.
Italy, a nation of 60 million people where COVID-19 first broke out in the West in February 2020, has nearly 3 million confirmed cases.
Speranza announced stricter directives, contained in the first anti-pandemic decree of the new Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, aimed at trying to “govern this contagion curve”, especially among school-age children.
There are “quite robust signs of an increase in the contagion curve and terrible variations,” especially the one found in Britain, the minister said.
The head of the government’s Higher Institute of Health, Silvio Brusaferro, said that in the analysis of the cases of February 18, 54% of the cases confirmed by COVID-19 in Italy involved this variant. But, said Brusaferro, “if it were measured today, the percentage would certainly be higher.”
Another variant, found in Brazil, is now involved in 4.3% of recent COVID-19 cases in Italy, Brusaferro said, especially in central Italy, including in the Rome area.
In recent days, authorities have pledged to seal many cities in areas where transport rates are rising rapidly. The mayor of Bologna, with a population of 400,000, announced that from Thursday until March 21, the city will be subject to strict rules to block the “red zone”, which means that all restaurants and cafes are closed for meals, as well as non-essential stores.
Another critical place is Como, the seaside town near Switzerland. Many Como citizens commute across the border.
The variant found in South Africa is involved in 0.4% of COVID-19 infections in Italy and is mainly limited to the Italian alpine area near the border with Austria, Brusaferro said.
Draghi’s decree, which comes into force on Saturday and lasts until April 6, right after Easter, has tightened the measures governing schools. All schools, including kindergarten and elementary school, in the “red zone” regions need to be closed. Some exceptions will be made for students with special needs.
But the decree weakens restrictions in the world of culture. From 27 March, cinemas and theaters can reopen in low-incidence and virus transmission areas of the “yellow zone”, but these places must limit capacity to 25%. The museums in the yellow areas, already authorized to admit the public during the week, can also open on weekends starting with March 27th.
Gyms and swimming pools remain closed. There is also a national hatch from 22:00 to 5:00 and a ban on travel between regions of Italy.
Italy’s known death toll, over 98,000, is the second highest in Europe after Britain.