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COVID-19 ALERT

Cases of Omicron coronavirus variant rise to 84 in Italy

The new Omicron coronavirus variant, which is far more contagious than the dominant Delta strain, is spreading rapidly in Italy, with new cases found in the north and south of the country, Italy's national health institute (ISS) said on Saturday.

Published: 18 December 2021 18:46 CET

A health worker administers a dose of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine.

The new variant is also spreading in countries with high levels of immunity, the WHO said. MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP

The agency said that 84 cases of the new strain had been identified on Saturday, up from 55 on Friday.

Thirty-three cases were found in the Lombardy region in northern Italy and a further 20 in the southern region of Campania.

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Test sequencing is more limited in Italy however than in some countries, such as the UK.

The spread was “widely expected, in line with what we have seen in other countries, and we will probably see an increase in cases in coming days,” ISS president Silvio Brusaferro said, Reuters reported.

This came as the World Health Organisation said that Omicron was spreading rapidly even in countries with high levels of population immunity.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has warned that the Omicron variant could be dominant in Europe by mid-January.

As of December 17th, around 85 percent of Italy’s total population was fully vaccinated against Covid-19, according to Statista, rising to almost 94 percent for the over-80 age group.

On Saturday, Italy reported 123 coronavirus-related deaths and 28,064 new infections, the health ministry said.

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Will Italy bring back some Covid health measures?

Italy’s health ministry described the Covid-19 situation in the country as “unpredictable” as 2023 begins, urging people to be cautious and suggesting restrictions could return ahead of a likely increase in case numbers after the festive period.

At the moment case numbers in Italy are still in decline, the health ministry confirmed in a circular published on Friday.

Data from Italy’s control centre monitoring the pandemic confirmed a decreasing trend in the incidence of new cases, and stabilisation of the number of cases that require intensive care.

But as winter makes the circulation of viruses easier and case numbers rise in some countries – particularly in China – the government urged people to be cautious.

As scheduled, Italy’s government further relaxed most of the remaining containment measures within the country from December 31st – while also bringing in a testing requirement for visitors from China and suggesting that some domestic restrictions could soon return.

The health ministry recommended the voluntary use of masks indoors and said that if infection rates spike it would consider adopting “other measures such as working from home or limiting the size of gatherings”.

Rule changes so far

From January 1st, planned rule changes removed the requirement for infected people to test negative to exit quarantine following a five-day isolation period and reducing the ‘self-surveillance’ masking period for close contacts from ten to five days.

The amendments also bring an end to a requirement for all visitors to healthcare facilities, such as hospitals and care homes, to show proof of vaccination against Covid-19 or a recent negative test result.

However, the health ministry on Thursday extended a mask mandate in all healthcare settings until April 30th 2023, in the same ordinance which ordered mandatory Covid testing before boarding and upon arrival for all passengers flying to Italy from China amid concern about an explosion in the number of cases there as its borders reopen.

The rules, in force until January 31st, mean all passengers travelling to Italy from China must show a negative test result upon boarding and also undergo an antigen test upon arrival in Italy, the foreign ministry stated.

Those who tested positive on arrival would be required to isolate in Italy, it confirmed.

READ ALSO: Why has Italy ordered Covid tests for all arrivals from China?

The ministry also recommended strengthening surveillance systems and increasing genomic sequencing to detect new variants of the Sars-CoV-2 virus, and stressed the importance of indoor ventilation and vaccinations.

“High vaccination coverage, completion of vaccination cycles and maintenance of a high immune response through the booster dose represent necessary tools to mitigate the clinical impact of the epidemic,” the circular stated.

There are concerns about falling immunity rates in Italy however due to low levels of uptake of the booster jab this winter.

The government meanwhile in December scrapped a requirement for healthcare staff to be vaccinated against Covid-19, and reinstated those who were suspended from work due to refusal of the vaccine.

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