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Indian coronavirus variant detected in northern Italy

Authorities in Veneto, northern Italy, announced on Monday they had identified two cases of the Indian variant of coronavirus.

Published: 26 April 2021 17:28 CEST

Indian coronavirus variant detected in northern Italy

Photo: Piero Cruciatti/AFP

The news follows reports of another case in the central region of Tuscany last month, and comes after the Italian government banned arrivals from India, which is struggling with a catastrophic, record-breaking outbreak that has overwhelmed hospitals.

“Today in (the city of) Bassano we have the first two patients, two Indian citizens,” announced Luca Zaia, head of the Veneto region.

“There are now thousands of variants, and sooner or later they’ll all arrive,” he said. “We have to face up to this, and move forward.”

READ ALSO: Italy bans arrivals from virus-hit India

Bassano, in the province of Vicenza, lies some 65 kilometres (40 miles) north-east of Venice.

The two patients were identified as a father and adult daughter of Indian origin who recently returned from a trip to India. They are currently isolating at home.

Health Minister Roberto Speranza on Sunday announced a new ban on anyone entering Italy who has been in India in the past 14 days.

Anyone already in Italy who had been in India in the past 14 days should contact health authorities, he added.

With a new coronavirus variant spreading through its 1.3 billion people, India has become the world’s biggest coronavirus hotspot in recent days, reporting 349,691 new cases on Sunday alone.

In the past week, more than two million cases have been detected, a 58-percent increase on the previous seven days, according to figures compiled by AFP.

Member comments

Anonymous - 26 April 2021 at 22:07 CEST

What are you suggesting is going on?
Anonymous - 27 April 2021 at 04:22 CEST

Creating what? Burning bodies on a pyre in Delhi? They’re sure scaring the hell out of 1.4 billion people in India then, including my family that can’t leave and all have tested positive with no ability to seek care.

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'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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