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HEALTH

Covid-19: Zone changes for nine Italian regions as transmission rate falls

Local restrictions are set to change in several Italian regions this weekend after health officials confirmed on Friday that the situation is improving in many areas.

Published: 4 December 2020 18:56 CET
Updated: 6 December 2020 13:56 CET
Covid-19: Zone changes for nine Italian regions as transmission rate falls
Italian ministers have said they hope most, if not all, Italian regions will be classified as 'yellow' before Christmas. Photo: AFP

Italy's health ministry announced the latest changes to the tiered system of coronavirus rules in a press conference on Friday evening.

The red-zone regions of Campania, Tuscany, Valle D'Aosta and the autonomous province of Bolzano will become orange zones.

Orange zones Emilia Romagna, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Marche, Puglia and Umbria will turn yellow.

Italian health minister Roberto Speranza will sign an ordinance on Friday night, and the changes will come into effect from Sunday December 6th.

The ordinance will also renew the current measures in Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Lombardy and Piedmont. 

The classificatons are made based on the coronavirus situaton locally according to a weekly analysis of each region's weekly health data by the health ministry together with the Higher Health Institure (ISS).

People in the highest-risk zones are told to stay within their comune, or municipality, and are only allowed to leave for work, study, health or other essential reasons.

The data released on Friday showed tha overall the Rt (transmission rate) has now dropped between the critical number of 1 in 16 Italian regions.
 
The figures, which relate to the period of November 11-24th, showed that the average Rt index calculated on symptomatic cases was equal to 0.91.

EXPLAINED: How Italy decides which regions are Covid-19 red zones

GRAPHS: Track the spread of coronavirus in every region of Italy

ANALYSIS: Has Italy's coronavirus second wave peaked?

This week, the data showed a another decrease in the incidence of Covid cases overall nationwide over the last 14 days.

These data “are encouraging and confirm the effects of the (government's anti-coronavirus) measures,” the ISS weekly monitoring report stated, however it noted that “the pressure on hospital services is still very high”.

On December 1st, 18 regions reported having exceeded critical thresholds in hospitals or intensive care units, the report said.

“In five weeks we went from a very worrying Rt number of 1.7 to a figure of 0.91,” Health Minister Roberto Speranza told Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore on Friday evening. “This does not mean a narrow escape, but it means that the measures have produced effects.”

“The objective of the government and the regions was to go below 1, we finally succeeded, but there is still a very difficult game in progress”.

The announcement of the latest changes to the tier system came a day after the government announced a new set of restrictions under the latest emergency decree, which is in force from December 4th to January 15th.

It included further travel restrictions throughout December, as the government aims to discourage trips, gatherings and parties over the festive period.

TIMELINE: How Italy's coronavirus rules get stricter towards Christmas

 

Under its latest emergency decree, the Italian government will require EU citizens to take a coronavirus test before travelling to Italy between December 10th-20th.

From December 21st everyone arriving in Italy during the Christmas period from overseas, including returning citizens and residents, to quarantine for 14 days.

The government also announced a ban on travel between regions over Christmas, and a ban on moving between towns on December 25th and 26th and January 1st.

These rules will apply nationwide, regardless of an area's classification under the tiered system.

Find all of The Local's latest coronavirus updates here.

 

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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?”

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