ROME (AP) – The coronavirus variant discovered in Britain is common among infected schoolchildren in Italy and helps fuel a “robust” increase in the COVID-19 contagion curve in the country, Health Minister said on Tuesday .
Roberto Speranza told reporters that the variant, associated with higher transmission rates, has shown a prevalence “among the younger age group” of the population.
In recent weeks, Italy’s incidence of new cases among young people has overshadowed the incidence among the older population, a reversal of how COVID-19 residents were affected in the early months of the pandemic.
Italy, a nation of 60 million people where COVID-19 first exploded in the West in February 2020, has recorded nearly 3 million confirmed cases.
Speranza announced stricter guidelines, included in the first decree against the pandemic by new Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, with the aim of 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 variants,” particularly the one discovered in Britain, the minister said.
The president of the government’s Higher Institute of Health, Silvio Brusaferro, said that as of the February 18 case analyzes, 54% of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Italy involved this variant. But, Brusaferro said, “if measured today surely the percentage would 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 the area in the Rome region.
In recent days, authorities have tried to seal many cities in areas where transmission rates are rising rapidly. The mayor of Bologna, which has 400,000 inhabitants, announced that, from Thursday to March 21, the city will be subject to strict rules for closing the “red zone”, which means that all restaurants and cafes are closed to restaurants as well as non-essential shops.
Another critical place is Como, the lakeside town near Switzerland. Many of the citizens of Como travel across the border.
The variant found in South Africa is involved in 0.4% of COVID-19 infections in Italy and is confined mainly to the Italian alpine zone, near the border with Austria, Brusaferro said.
Draghi’s decree, which goes into effect on Saturday and runs until April 6, just after Easter, tightened the measures governing schools. It orders that all schools, including nursery and primary schools, in the “red zone” regions must be closed. Some exceptions will be made for students with special needs.
But the decree loosens restrictions on the world of culture. From March 27, cinemas and theaters may reopen in the “yellow zone” regions with low incidence and virus transmission rates, but these places must limit capacity to 25%. Museums in yellow areas, which already have permission to admit the public on weekdays, can also open on weekends from 27 March.
Gyms and swimming pools remain closed. There is also a curfew across the country from 22:00 to 5:00 and a ban on travel between regions of Italy.
The known number of more than 98,000 deaths in Italy is the second highest in Europe, after Britain.