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Covid-19: Italy to extend state of emergency until April 30th

With Covid-19 infections on the rise, the Italian government is planning to extend the country’s state of emergency.

Published: 14 January 2021 09:08 CET
Covid-19: Italy to extend state of emergency until April 30th
Photo: AFP

Italy's health data on Friday showed the coronavirus Rt number (reproduction rate) had risen above 1 for the first time in six weeks, further cementing the government’s fears that a third wave of the coronavirus is on its way.

READ ALSO: How will Italy's coronavirus rules change under the new emergency decree?

Hopes in early December that the country could begin to reopen in January have now been dashed, and health minister Roberto Speranza on Wednesday confirmed the extension of many current restrictions from January 15th.

Speranza also confirmed that the government plans to extend the stato di emergenza to April 30th.

“This week there has been a general deterioration in the epidemiological situation in Italy,” Speranza told parliament's lower house, stating that the epidemic is “in a phase of expansion again” as he outlined plans for the next emergency decree.

Italian health minister Roberto Speranza announcing the extension to parliament. Photo: AFP

The state of emergency declaration allows Italian officials to bypass much of the bureaucracy that often slows down decision-making.Italy’s state of emergency does not determine the emergency rules and restrictions and it's not the same thing as an emergency decree.

It gives greater powers to both the national government and to regional authorities, and allows the Prime Minister to introduce, change, and revoke rules quickly via emergency decrees.
 
 
The current state of alarm is due to end on January 31st, by when the state of emergency will have been in place for one year.
 
Italy first declared the state of emergency in late January 2020 after the first two cases of Covid-19 were detected in the country, in two Chinese tourists in Rome.
 
 
Italian law states that the duration of a national state of emergency cannot exceed 12 months and can be extended for no more than a further 12 months.

But the 12-month extension period starts with the first extension, which began on July 31st 2020.

This suggests that the state of emergency will end at the very latest on July 31st 2021.

There are high hopes that Italy wil have made good progress with its vaccination campaign by that point.

As of January 14th, the country has vaccinated almost 900,000 people.

Italy is prioritising medical workers and elderly care home residents, and the vaccine is not yet available to the general public.

Since the start of the pandemic Italy has reported 2.1 million infections and more than 80,000 deaths in total from Covid-19.

 

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BREXIT

‘We are desperate’: Why the UK must help Britons with Italian healthcare charges

A 74-year-old British woman has explained the "frustration and fear" Britons in Italy are facing when trying to access healthcare and appealed to the UK government for help.

Published: 11 April 2024 09:53 CEST
'We are desperate': Why the UK must help Britons with Italian healthcare charges

Pat Eggleton, a teacher and writer from the UK, appealed to the UK’s Foreign Secretary David Cameron in the letter sent April 9th about the “desperate” situation faced by UK citizens entitled to free healthcare in Italy – but unable to access it.

British nationals residing in Italy before Brexit, and covered by the Withdrawal Agreement (WA), are in many cases being told by Italian health authorities that they must pay steep new fees at a minimum of €2,000 a year – even though they are exempt from paying at all.

READ ALSO: ‘Life or death situation’: Brits facing high Italian healthcare costs amid rule change uncertainty

In her open letter seen by The Local, Ms. Eggleton, who has lived in Italy since 2005, highlighted that the current minimum is a huge jump from the previous €387, and said that the sum was “difficult, or even impossible, for some to find when there had been no prior notification and there is no option to pay in instalments.”

“A great deal of undeserved worry, frustration and even fear has ensued,” she wrote.

“Some of our group have serious, ongoing health conditions. All we require is for one sentence from the Italian government confirming that Withdrawal Agreement beneficiaries do not have to pay for healthcare access to be circulated to all regional health authorities.

“We implore you to act before this becomes even more serious. As someone put it, “This is a matter not only of money, but of health.” 

Ms Eggleton’s letter came exactly one month after the British government confirmed that all WA agreement beneficiaries are exempt from paying the €2,000 fee, provided they were living in Italy before January 1st 2021.

But there were no details available at the time from the Italian government setting out how the rules would be implemented or communicated to local health authorities around Italy.

Since then, there has been no further information released by the Italian government on any official platform. 

One Withdrawal Agreement beneficiary, Graham Beresford, told The Local last week how he was having trouble accessing healthcare, even though he has a right to it.

Mr. Beresford suffers from blood cancer and needs access to the Italian healthcare system to obtain his medication. 

“Every time I go to my ASL (local health unit) office, I always feel like I’m dismissed,” Graham said. “I told the ASL worker I need medication for my cancer and she replied lots of people come in here with sob stories.

“There genuinely seems to be no compassion whatsoever.”

The Local has written to the Italian health ministry for comment.

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