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BUSINESS

Italy reports one of Europe’s worst economic slumps in 2020

Italy has reported its biggest contraction in GDP since the end of World War II.

Italy reports one of Europe's worst economic slumps in 2020
Coronavirus restrictions in the last quarter of 2020 hit businesses particularly hard. Photo: AFP

Italy's virus-stricken economy shrank by 8.9 percent last year, national statistics office Istat said on Tuesday.

The figure is a first estimate, subject to revision, which is slightly more optimistic than what had been forecast by the Bank of Italy and the
International Monetary Fund. 

Both had predicted a 9.2-percent annual fall in gross domestic product (GDP).

But it is still one of the worst in Europe, compared with a fall of 5.0 percent in Germany and 8.3 percent in France.

Spain's economy did worse, with a drop of 11 percent.

Things were particularly bad for Italy in the last quarter, when GDP shrank by 2.0 percent compared to the previous three months.

The economy was hit by a new round of restrictions introduced to combat the second wave of coronavirus later in the year, Istat noted.

 

More than 420,000 jobs were lost in Italy between February and December, including 101,000 just in the month of December.

The slump also aggravated a long-existing gender gap in the labour market.

In December alone, 99,000 women lost their employment, versus only 2,000 men, Istat figures showed.

READ ALSO: Italy plans 'housewife bonus' to get more women into work

Fewer than half of working-age Italian women are in employment, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, even though women make up more than half of all Italians getting a bachelor's degree or PhD.

Economists say women in Italy have been disproportionately hit by job losses as they more often have insecure positions in service industries, such as in tourism or catering, which have been particularly badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

While manufacturing is one sector that has held up well in Italy, the economy is heavily reliant on tourism.

Italy, the eurozone's third largest economy, was the first European country hit by the pandemic.

In March 2020, it was also the first country in Europe to go into a national lockdown, with devastating economic consequences.

The outlook for Italy's economy in 2021 is uncertain amid political turmoil and delays to the vaccination rollout.

The country remains without a government after talks over the weekend failed.

Photo: AFP

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HEALTH

Covid-19 still causing 1,000 deaths a week in Europe, WHO warns

The World Health Organization's European office warned on Tuesday the risk of Covid-19 has not gone away, saying it was still responsible for nearly 1,000 deaths a week in the region. And the real figure may be much higher.

Covid-19 still causing 1,000 deaths a week in Europe, WHO warns

The global health body on May 5 announced that the Covid-19 pandemic was no longer deemed a “global health emergency.”

“Whilst it may not be a global public health emergency, however, Covid-19 has not gone away,” WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge told reporters.

The WHO’s European region comprises 53 countries, including several in central Asia.

“Close to 1,000 new Covid-19 deaths continue to occur across the region every week, and this is an underestimate due to a drop in countries regularly reporting Covid-19 deaths to WHO,” Kluge added, and urged authorities to ensure vaccination coverage of at least 70 percent for vulnerable groups.

Kluge also said estimates showed that one in 30, or some 36 million people, in the region had experienced so called “long Covid” in the last three years, which “remains a complex condition we still know very little about.”

“Unless we develop comprehensive diagnostics and treatment for long Covid, we will never truly recover from the pandemic,” Kluge said, encouraging more research in the area which he called an under-recognised condition.

Most countries in Europe have dropped all Covid safety restrictions but some face mask rules remain in place in certain countries in places like hospitals.

Although Spain announced this week that face masks will no longer be required in certain healthcare settings, including hospitals and pharmacies, with a couple of exceptions.

Sweden will from July 1st remove some of its remaining Covid recommendations for the public, including advice to stay home and avoid close contact with others if you’re ill or have Covid symptoms.

The health body also urged vigilance in the face of a resurgence of mpox, having recorded 22 new cases across the region in May, and the health impact of heat waves.

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