Brussels (Brussels Morning) Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte stresses the importance of imposing new restrictions to curb the spread of coronavirus, noting that a third wave of infections would be devastating, Reuters reported Monday.
“Further, new restrictions are now needed,” Conte told La Stampa, pointing out that “we must avert at all costs a third wave, because this would be devastating, also from the point of view of the loss of lives.”
Crowds descended on shopping centres during the weekend, just after Rome lifted some of the restrictions that had been in place since last month. That response is why Conte’s government is now considering introducing more severe nationwide restrictions for the holiday season. Italy’s death toll in the coronavirus crisis stands at some 65,000, the highest among European countries.
Conte predicts that the planned vaccination campaign will have to reach between 10 and 15 million people in order to have sufficient effect on collective immunity, a target he believes could be achieved before the summer.
Recent figures
Italy reported 12,030 new coronavirus infections on Monday, down from 17,938 on Sunday, Reuters reported. The number of coronavirus-related deaths stood at 491 on Monday, slightly up compared to 484 the day before, according to the Ministry of Health.
The Ministry added that 103,584 swab tests had been carried out the previous day, down from 152,697 recorded the day before. The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients nationwide on Monday stood at 27,765, approximately 30 more than on Sunday.
The number of new intensive care admissions dropped from 152 on Sunday to 138 on Monday, while the number of patients in intensive care stood at 3,095, 63 fewer than the day before. In contrast, the number of new daily hospital admissions stood at some 1,000 in the first half of November, while the number of new intensive care patients increased by approximately 100 per day.Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Italy has registered about 1.856 million cases.