Italy sees 45% upsurge in infections within a day
27 February, 2020
Italy reported a 45% one-day upsurge in persons infected with the coronavirus as other countries in Europe recorded their first cases Tuesday, generating evidence that travelers are carrying the virus from the European outbreak’s current epicenter.
Italian officials reported 11 deaths and 322 confirmed cases of the virus, 100 greater than a day earlier. While the majority were concentrated in northern Italy, a few of the new cases registered beyond your country’s two hard-hit regions, including three in Sicily, two in Tuscany and one in Liguria.
An Italian couple from the afflicted north tested positive in the Canary Islands off Africa, forcing the quarantine of their hotel in what one guest said felt like being “monkeys in a cage.” Austria, Croatia and Switzerland reported their first cases, all in persons who recently traveled to Italy.
The four new deaths in Italy, like the seven reported earlier, were in patients who were elderly, experiencing other ailments or both, officials said.
Amid increasing cases and distribution issues with protective gear and test kits, Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte defended the measures Italy has taken up to support the outbreak and predicted a stabilizing of numbers soon. But he acknowledged that the rise in cases - the most outside Asia - was “worrisome.”
“Obviously I can’t say I’m not worried because I don’t want one to think we’re underestimating this emergency,” he stated before a gathering with a visiting World Health Organization mission. “But we trust that with the measures we’ve implemented you will have a containing effect in the coming days.”
Italy has closed schools, museums and theaters in both regions where clusters have formed and troops are enforcing quarantines around 10 towns in Lombardy and the epicenter of the Veneto cluster, Vo’Euganeo.
The sponsors of 1 of the world’s most significant furniture and design industry events, held in Milan, announced late Tuesday that they made a decision to postpone the international events because of concerns over the virus. Milan may be the Lombardy regional capital.
“In view of the ongoing public health emergency, your choice has been taken to postpone the upcoming edition of the Salone del Mobile.Milan to June 16th -21st,” a statement from the organizers said. The show at first was scheduled for April 21-26.
Italian health officials haven’t yet discovered the foundation of the outbreak. Angelo Borrelli, the head of the Italian civil protection department, said the case count grew from 222 to 322, representing a 45% increase, in a 24-hour period from Monday evening to Tuesday evening.
Source: the-japan-news.com