Over a quarter of the new positive coronavirus cases recorded in the week between 3 and 9 August, the last monitored, escaped the tracking system necessary to trace back to “patient zero” and interrupt the chain of infections. This means that in the last few days alone several hundred, perhaps thousands of positives (unaware, if asymptomatic) continue to circulate and have normal social relationships, infecting other people. The data emerges from the confidential reports of the Higher Institute of Health and the Ministry of Health, which “La Stampa” is able to reveal. And it represents a sign of stress in the local health system. Added to the others recorded in recent weeks, it certifies a slow but constant recovery of the epidemic, albeit “invisible” due to the lowering of the average age of the infected (now 40 years) and the prevalence of asymptomatic positives.
The ministry experts write that in the week between 3 and 9 August there were 686 “new cases of confirmed infection by Sars-CoV-2 per Region not associated with known transmission chains” out of a total of 2,459 new positive cases make certain. The most critical situations concern Lombardy (305 cases of unknown origin out of 539 new infections), Emilia Romagna (104 out of 304) and Tuscany (86 out of 151). Liguria and Puglia have not even started the search for possible positive contacts in almost 10% and 12% of the positive cases detected. In the previous week “holes” of this kind had also been recorded in Friuli Venezia Giulia and Lombardy.
The tracing is the fundamental embankment for the containment of the outbreaks, which in the meantime have become 925, of which 225 “ignited” in the last week. Having noticed the flop of the “Immuni” app (only 4 million have downloaded it), the special departments of the ASL remain to manage it. About 9 thousand operators throughout Italy, who for each positive must “track” and contact 20-30 people. In March the system went haywire, between the end of April and July it held up. Today we are at about 3 thousand new cases a week and it is recording the first cracks. And in the fall?
Yesterday there were 574 new cases of coronavirus. Higher than the 523 on Thursday even if underestimated due to a computer problem in Piedmont. There was no such daily increase since May 28. The increase has even more weight if associated with the drop in tampons (as is now known, the more you look, the more you find). In the lead for new positives Veneto (+127) and Lombardy (+97). No cases only in Valle d’Aosta and Molise.
The massive return of Italian tourists from countries considered at risk by the order of Minister Speranza clogs up the diagnosis and tracking system. The Regions, with difficulty and in no particular order, are equipping themselves to guarantee swabs (or, alternatively, negative serological tests) for anyone returning from Spain, Greece, Malta and Croatia. Some opt for mandatory home isolation, others for mild prudential measures.
In Salento 53% of new cases come from abroad, in Emilia Romagna 21 positive out of 57 rregistered yesterday, 22 out of 45 in Lazio, 14 out of 26 in Tuscany and 10 out of 44 in Campania. In Lombardy over 50% of the positives between 3 and 9 August “are imported from a foreign state”, but the governor Attilio Fontana does not has ordered the quarantine for those returning from holidays: self-limited masks and movement are enough.
Buffering all tourists returning from abroad will not be easy. At Malpensa alone 6 thousand arrivals are expected at the turn of August. In Fiumicino, where a special area has been set up, at least 1000 a day. In Bologna alone there are already 2700 bookings for the tampon. In a few hours 13 thousand telephone calls to the Lombardy toll-free number, 5 thousand in Lazio. Friulian governor Massimiliano Fedriga asks the government for 100,000 rapid tests. Puglia requires private laboratories to carry out at least 100 tests per day and to guarantee 24-hour operation. The president of Tuscany, Enrico Rossi, accuses the airlines of not providing the return lists, asks the government for the obligation of prior registration and argues with Italians who go on vacation abroad.
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