Italy reports record daily number of coronavirus cases

By Michele Novaga

MILAN, Italy (AA) - Despite 113.5 million doses of vaccine administered in Italy so far, the country has registered a record daily number of new 189.109 new cases and 231 deaths in the last 24 hours.

"In the last week, there has been an explosion of new cases of Covid-19 that hit over 810,000, an increase of 153% compared to the previous week," as reported by the Gimbe Foundation which monitored that in the last seven days the currently positive cases doubled, from 598,868 to 1,265,297 (+111.3%).

The weekly report of the foundation adds that more than one million COVID-19 tests have been administered in just one day.

The intensive care units of the hospitals are filling up (now there are 1,428 patients) as the other COVID-19 wards: on Wednesday admissions were 452 more (+579 compared to Tuesday), rising to a total of 13,364 patients. Long lines of cars are reported in front of the hospitals waiting for a drive through test and in the vaccination centers people waited hours before getting jabbed.

The Italian government, in order to tackle the spread of the virus, last night approved new measures.

The vaccination for people over 50 will be mandatory from Feb. 15 and the green pass vaccination will be extended to workers.

To enter the workplace, every worker must display a valid certification and the ones who go without one will be fined up to 1,500 euros ($1,693). After the fifth day of unjustified absence, the employer may suspend the worker for a period not exceeding 10 working days without disciplinary consequences.

The vaccination green pass will be compulsory to access public offices, postal, banking and financial services offices, commercial activities and trains, flights and even local transport services.

The certificate will have to be displayed also to enter a gym or swimming pool, museums and exhibitions, fairs, conferences, congresses, spas, playrooms and amusement parks. Super Green Pass is also required to go to hotels or to any other accommodation facility and to attend weddings or parties for civil or religious ceremonies.

The new rules also affected schools. In case of two positive tests in one classroom of a primary school, the school closes for 10 days and lessons will be given remotely.

"The choices we are making is to restrict as much as possible the movement of non-vaccinated people, because they are causing a health burden on our hospital systems," said Health Minister Roberto Speranza at the end of the government cabinet in which tensions between Prime Minister Mario Draghi and one of its coalition party, Matteo Salvini’s Lega party, were reported.

He also emphasized that to date "2/3 of the patients in intensive care and 50% in ordinary wards are not vaccinated. So the pressures which the hospitals are facing are driven by the non-vaccinated".