People walk at an almost deserted area on the first Sunday in Covid-19 lockdown in Turin
Credit: TINO ROMANO/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock /Shutterstock
Italy is investigating whether five regions may have underreported local health statistics around the management of Covid-19 ahead of the imposition of stringent lockdown measures.
The figures submitted from five regions in the least restrictive “yellow” areas of Italy’s new three-tiered risk system – Liguria, Basilicata, Campania, Abruzzo and Veneto – are being re-evaluated, the Italian daily Repubblica reported, after National Health Institute officials flagged them for sending incomplete data ahead of the health ministry’s determination of risk areas.
Health ministry committees were meeting on Sunday to analyse revised numbers and determine if any additional regions should be under tighter restrictions. Specifically, investigators are examining how Campania rapidly tripled its intensive care (ICU) capacity by transforming normal hospital beds into ICU beds, and why Liguria registered a decline in hospitalisations despite rising deaths and overwhelmed emergency rooms.
“The problem is clear. Some regions are reporting their data late and poorly,” said Walter Ricciardi, the World Health Organization’s Italian government adviser.
The coronavirus pandemic’s second wave arrived late to Italy but is now putting the health system under critical strain in at least 10 regions. A record 39,811 new infections were registered on Saturday, as well as 424 deaths.
The latest emergency decree went into effect last Friday, establishing a nationwide 10pm curfew and dividing the country into three colour-coded risk areas with varying levels of closures.
Regional tensions have emerged with governors and mayors questioning how the determinations are calculated and claiming the approach stops them managing the crisis locally.
The wealthy northern cities of Milan and Turin were among those shuttered on Friday when four regions – Lombardy, Piedmont, Valle d’Aosta and Calabria – were declared red zones with stringent restrictions for the next 15 days, including the closure of all nonessential stores, take-out only for bars and restaurants, distance learning for students over 12 and a ban on leaving hometowns except for work, health or other serious reasons.
Coronavirus Italy Spotlight Chart – deaths default
Sicily and Apulia were declared orange zones with some restrictions, while the rest of the country was declared “yellow” with the requirement that bars and restaurants close at 6pm.
In yellow zones like Emilia-Romagna, Veneto and Liguria, families took advantage of sunny weekend weather to lunch at the seaside, while their northern neighbours were banned from leaving home.
Naples was declared "yellow" despite obvious hospital strain, prompting suggestions that data reporting anomalies had skewed the risk algorithm, a complicated 21-point formula that takes into account factors including infection rate, as well as available ICU beds and medical personnel declared by the regions.
Several governors of regions under review have defended their reporting and accused the government of incompetence.
In the southern region of Calabria, gaffes by two consecutive health commissioners further embarrassed the government over the weekend.
Saverio Cotticelli, acting health commissioner, was asked to step down on Saturday after saying in a televised interview that he was unaware that managing the region’s Covid-19 plan was part of his remit.
A new health commissioner, Giuseppe Zuccatelli, was quickly nominated only to have a video emerge of him saying masks do not work. He announced on Sunday that he was isolating after testing positive for Covid-19.
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