Buffers also for the vaccinated to access indoor venues or major events. Obligatory mask outdoors. And reduced duration of the green pass. These are the hypotheses that will be discussed on 23 December by the control room with Prime Minister Mario Draghi at Palazzo Chigi. There Omicron variant also in Italy is in the spotlight and – although the numbers are not comparable to those of countries that record record infections – the appointment of 23 December is necessary close to the Christmas holidays which will be characterized by travels, family reunions, parties in restaurants and clubs.
DIRECTOR’S CAB, OMICRON VARIANT AND RULES
It is difficult to assume a tightening since Christmas, given that December 25 falls only 48 hours after the meeting. The eventual turning point is more likely to arrive for the rest of the holidays. In any case, the data will dictate the line. Any possible measure, government sources specify to Adnkronos, “will be evaluated on the basis of the latest updated data”.
Italy archives a day of over 28 thousand infections. The curve rises, hospitalizations and intensive care are still increasing. The Omicron variant is still in the second row compared to the Delta, but the number of cases is growing: there are 84, the day before they were 55. On stand-by, 10 cases in Florence. Meanwhile, most of the reports come from Lombardy (33) and Campania (20), while in general the variant is reported in 13 regions (Lazio 8, Puglia 7, Veneto 5, Piedmont and Emilia Romagna 2, Abruzzo, Calabria, Liguria, Sardinia, Sicily, Tuscany 1) and in the province of Bolzano. Tomorrow, according to the Higher Institute of Health, a new flash survey will be carried out to estimate the prevalence of the variant.
“The presence of Omicron was widely expected, in line with what has also been observed in other countries, and an increase in cases is likely in the coming days – comments the president of the Higher Institute of Health, Silvio Brusaferro – The growth in the number of cases filed testifies to the efficiency of the monitoring network, and of the systems put in place to follow the evolution of the variant. The recommendations given so far remain fundamental, to start or complete the vaccination cycle even with the third dose, to use the mask when indicated and to follow individual and collective measures to minimize the spread of the virus “.
THE ALARM FROM THE HOSPITALS
Hospitals are under increasing pressure. “The Omicron variant runs, there will be an impact, as we can already see, first on admissions in the media area and then on intensive care”, Antonino Giarratano, president of the Italian Society of Anesthesia, Analgesia, Resuscitation and Intensive Care, told Adnkronos Salute (Be you).
“We are preparing for the worst, healthcare companies are organizing the reopening and expansion of the Covid departments. We are worried but also prepared”. “Any action taken today” on the epidemic curve “will have results in 15-20 days, this applies to lockdowns for vaccinated or not, while the Regions in the yellow zone are useless”, he warns.
VACCINATION AND LOCKDOWN OBLIGATION
From the experts, in view of the possible tightening, there are solicitations that refer to drastic measures. Omicron “has already arrived and will spread, we must find ways to mitigate and dilute the impact on the infection curve and better absorb the consequences, so all interventions can help and even a lockdown would allow us to better manage the impact . I understand that it is not easy but we must be flexible “, says virologist Fabrizio Pregliasco, professor at the University of Milan, to Adnkronos Health.
Professor Matteo Bassetti would instead focus on the vaccination obligation for the over 40s. “The vaccination obligation for everyone is the last resort, but we have about 6 million people who are not vaccinated and who will not by now”, he tells Adnkronos Salute the director of the Infectious Diseases Clinic at the Policlinico San Martino hospital in Genoa.
“We are already late and in the middle of the fourth wave. If you want to protect the population, even in view of a spread of Omicron with a super influx of people in the hospital, a proposal could be to use the next 15 days of the holidays of Christmas to put an obligation to immunize, at least for the over 40s, so we could reduce that huge number of unvaccinated people. We could take advantage of closed schools and holidays, and think of a fine after January 9 for those who have not been vaccinated ” he adds. While on the lockdown for the unvaccinated, Bassetti clarifies that “covid cannot be fought with restrictions, but if you have to choose it is clear that these measures must apply only to the unvaccinated”.
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