Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

HEALTH

Covid-19: Italy records more than 3,600 new cases in a day as state of emergency extended

Italy reported a surge in confirmed coronavirus cases on Wednesday as the daily figure exceeded 3,000 for the first time in months.

Published: 7 October 2020 17:38 CEST
Covid-19: Italy records more than 3,600 new cases in a day as state of emergency extended
Photo: AFP
Italian health authorities recorded 3,678 new cases of coronavirus within the past 24 hours on Wednesday – around a thousand more than Tuesday's figure.
 
This was the first time the number of new cases exceeded 3,000 since mid-April, Italy's health ministry said.
 
While Italy is still seeing fewer new infections than some other parts of Europe, numbers are steadily rising. Italy had recorded around 2,500 new cases on average daily since October 1st.
 
The number of tests carried out in Italy over the past 24 hours was high – 125,314 – however the percentage of swabs which came back positive was 2.9 percent,  only a slight increase.

 
Hospitalisations also continue to rise steadily, with 337 patients now in intensive care.
 
There were 31 deaths recorded on Wednesday, meaning the overall Italian death toll is now 36,061
 
There are now almost 59,000 people in Italy known to be currently infected.
 
While the situation had previously been more serious in northern Italy, numbers are now rising across the country.
 
The region with the most new cases on Wednesday was Campania in the south, with 544, followed by Lombardy with 520, data from health authorities showed.
 
 
Italy's coronavirus emergency commissioner Domenico Arcuri said earlier on Wednesday that the number of new infections was still “manageable”, but added “we must prepare ourselves for the possibility that they will grow.”
 
He said italy had boosted its intensive care capacity and strengthened the healthcare system since the pandemic first hit Italy in March.

 
Wednesday's figures were reported hours after Italy's parliament approved an extension to the current state of emergency, which will now stay in place until January 21st, 2021 – a year since it was first introduced.
Italy's government on Wednesday also tightened some rules in response to recent rises in new cases of Covid-19.
 
An update to existing emergency measures, which comes into force on Thursday, makes wearing a mask obligatory whenever you leave your home, at all times of the day and in all parts of the country.
 
The government has also raised the fines for refusing to wear a mask to between €400 and €1,000, with police patrols deployed to check that people are complying. Until now the maximum penalty was €400, though some regions had introduced higher fines locally.
 
Italy's government was also expected to sign off on a wider range of new rules on Wednesday under a new emergency decree, but that has now been postponed and current rules will stay in place until October 15th.
 
You can follow all of The Local's latest updates on the coronavirus situation in Italy here.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

BREXIT

‘In the dark’: Why Brits in Italy are still unable to prove rights to free healthcare

Despite UK and Italian authorities confirming that British residents covered by post-Brexit rules are entitled to healthcare in Italy, many still face "significant problems" in accessing it, the British government has said.

Published: 22 May 2024 13:38 CEST
Updated: 23 May 2024 11:57 CEST
'In the dark': Why Brits in Italy are still unable to prove rights to free healthcare

Cancer patients are among those in need of treatment but unable to access the Italian national health service amid confusion over post-Brexit rules, campaigners say, after clarifications from the UK and Italian governments have so far failed to resolve bureaucratic deadlocks at local authority level.

Since the end of the Brexit transition period in 2021, many British nationals resident in Italy covered by the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) have reported difficulties in proving their right to free healthcare under the Italian public system.

The problem was exacerbated this year after the Italian government in January hiked the minimum annual fee for ‘voluntary’ healthcare registration from €387 to €2,000, which many said they were unable to pay.

The British government in February stepped in to clarify that UK nationals covered by the WA should not be subject to charges for healthcare, and on its Living in Italy website it advised those affected to show their local health authority office (Azienda Sanitaria Locale, or ASL) an official note published by the Italian health ministry on February 15th which sets out their rights (find it here, in Italian.)

WA beneficiaries “can compulsorily enrol (iscrizione obbligatoria) with the Italian National Health System,” states the final section, pointing out that the deal, “in Article 23, provides for equal treatment with domestic nationals.”

But for some local health officials, even this written confirmation does not appear to be enough to clear up the confusion.

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

The UK government on Friday, May 17th, updated its guidance to say it had become aware that “some beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement are facing significant problems accessing health services and renewing their healthcare cards,” despite its advice to show local health authorities the official note.

British nationals continue to report that local health authorities around Italy remain unwilling to issue them with a health card, while campaigners say the situation is further complicated for some by the fact that Italian authorities have also refused to issue proof of their permanent residency status, which entitles them to free healthcare.

This was the case for Graham Beresford, a British citizen living in Abruzzo who has been diagnosed with a rare cancer and remains unable to access the free healthcare he is entitled to, as he says local authorities don’t understand the post-Brexit rules.

Graham told The Local in April that the government’s clarifications on the issue had made little difference – his ASL continues to demand he pay the 2,000-euro charge.

READ ALSO: Can I get a refund after wrongly paying Italy’s €2,000 healthcare fee?

“Every time I go to my ASL 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.”

Graham’s story was reported in The Guardian on May 12th ahead of UK foreign secretary David Cameron’s first major meeting with European commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič to discuss post-Brexit relations.

Campaigners also wrote to Cameron in April to appeal for help with the “desperate” situation faced by those unable to access care in Italy.

In its update to the Living in Italy website on Friday, the British government stated: “Since [the health ministry’s note] was published, and particularly in recent days and weeks, it has become clear to us that not all Italian authorities are consistently following this guidance.”

“We are urgently speaking to all relevant parts of the Italian government to clarify the situation so that we can give clear advice to those affected as soon as possible. 

“We also know that this problem is linked to the many difficulties some are experiencing with obtaining an attestazione di soggiorno permanente and/or the Carta di Soggiorno permanente. We are working to help with these issues too.

“We will update this page as soon as we have further news.”

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

Clarissa Killwick from Beyond Brexit, a group for UK citizens in Italy, said the situation “should never have been allowed to happen” and that there had been “a series of communication failures and inconsistencies.”

“We’re not far short of five months after the introduction of the €2,000 new minimum for voluntary contributions and there is still no clarity,” she added.

“There are fraught exchanges in public offices because people on both sides of the counter are in the dark or with conflicting information.

“People need information they can rely on, unequivocally. What do you say to someone who is waiting for an operation but has no idea what is going on?”

SHOW COMMENTS