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ECONOMY

Italy to spend 40 billion more to help virus-hit economy

Italy's government has agreed to borrow another 40 billion euros this year to help mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the prime minister's office said.

Published: 15 April 2021 17:15 CEST
Italy to spend 40 billion more to help virus-hit economy
Italy's bars and restaurants are among the businesses hit hardest byrepeated closures over the past year. Photo: Tiziana Fabi/AFP

The money “will be used for new measures to support businesses and the economy,” a source at Palazzo Chigi told media after a cabinet meeting on Thursday.

The move comes just three months after the last expansion of the budget deficit, by 32 billion euros, as Italy seeks to recover from its worst recession since the end of World War II.

Prime Minister Mario Draghi has been under pressure to offer more relief to businesses struggling with coronavirus restrictions, after protests from a wide range of groups, from entertainment workers to restaurant owners.

READ ALSO: Protesters clash with Italian police over business closures

A draft version of the new ‘documento di economia e finanza‘ (Def) said the new funding would prioritise self-employed workers and small businesses, Italian media reports, and that the final version of the document would be published “by the end of April”.

On Thursday, the government also adopted new economic targets, according to the source from Draghi’s office.

It expects gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 4.5 percent in 2021 and of 4.8 percent in 2022, after a record fall of 8.9 percent in last year — the biggest in postwar history.

Italy has already spent more than 130 billion euros in propping up sectors shut by Covid-19 closures since the pandemic swept across the country in early 2020, causing more than 115,500 deaths.

READ ALSO: When is Italy likely to relax its coronavirus restrictions?

The latest budget correction adds to the country’s debt mountain, but in the current economic environment of ultra-low interest rates, government borrowing has become noticeably cheaper.

In addition, Italy hopes to fuel its economic recovery with EU grants and loans coming from its share of the bloc’s recovery fund.

Italy is set to receive around 190 billion euros, arriving between 2021 and 2026.

The government is currently drafting a final plan setting out how the money will be spent. It is due to be submitted for EU authorities’ approval by the end of the month.

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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.

Published: 27 June 2023 13:27 CEST
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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