Tuscany and Campania declared Covid red zones as Italy records 40,000 new cases
Italy declared two more regions red zones and three more orange zones on Friday as the daily number of new coronavirus cases exceeded 40,000.
As Italy continues to struggle with a worsening coronavirus situation in many parts of the country, the health ministry announced the regions of Campania and Tuscany will be designated high risk "red zones".
Three more regions, Emilia Romagna, Friuli Venezia Giulia and Marche went from being yellow to medium-risk orange zones.
Health Minister Roberto Speranza will sign an ordinance on Friday night, and the new restrictions come into force on Sunday November 15th.
AT A GLANCE: What are the coronavirus rules in my part of Italy now?
The change means Italy's regions are now divided into the following categories:
Red (high risk) zones: Calabria, Campania, Tuscany Lombardy, Piedmont, Valle d'Aosta, autonomous province of Bolzano (also known as Alto Adige/South Tyrol).
Orange (medium-high risk) zones: Abruzzo, Basilicata, Liguria, Puglia, Sicily, Marche, Umbria, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Yellow (moderate risk) zones: Lazio, Molise, Sardinia, Veneto, autonomous province of Trento (Trentino).
I've been updating this map of Italy's Covid-19 risk zones for 9 days now and the yellow parts are rapidly disappearing... https://t.co/XLvGCzhOKQ pic.twitter.com/RY9bU3tFwU
— Jessica Phelan (@JessicaLPhelan) November 13, 2020
The health ministry announced the new classifications as it revealed the latest national health data on Friday evening.
Italy recorded 40,902 new infections in the past 24 hours according to health ministry figures.
READ ALSO: 'We are afraid': Naples residents prepare for new restrictions as hospitals overwhelmed
This was the highest daily number yet. Italy also carried out the highest number of tests yet, at 254,908.
There were 550 more deaths in the same period.
There are now 3,230 patients in intensive care in Italy, and more than 33,000 people are now in hospital - around the same number as during the peak of the first wave, in April.
Red zone regions are under the maximum restrictions after Italy introduced its three-tier system last week.
The government has now updated the regional system twice since it was introduced on Friday November 6th.
Tuscany was declared on orange zone on Wednesday, while Campania had been designated a yellow zone until now.
READ ALSO: ‘No plan, just hope’: How is Italy going to get the second wave under control?
Ministers bumped up five regions from yellow to orange zone restrictions on Wednesday, after Monday's weekly monitoring report from the Ministry of Health and the Higher Health Institute (ISS).gave a worrying picture of the coronavirus situation across the country.
"All regions are classified as being at high risk of an uncontrolled and unmanageable epidemic, or at moderate risk with a high probability of progressing to high risk in the coming weeks," the report read.
Health authorities have repeatedly warned that hospitals across Italy, and particularly in hard-hit areas such as Milan and Naples, are struggling to cope with a large number of patients.
Some regions have meanwhile started bringing in their own additional rules as part of efforts to avoid crowding and further transmission of the coronavirus.
Veneto has declared itself "yellow plus" and, along with Emilia-Romagna and Friuli-Venezia Giulia, will introduce new regional ordinances urging residents to avoid exercising or simply strolling on the streets of their town centres.
Q&A: Your key questions about Italy's coronavirus rules answered
Central Milan stands near empty after the region of Lombardy was declared a red zone on Friday November 6th. Photo: AFP
Orange zones face slightly less severe restrictions than red zones.
People in regions set to to move from yellow to orange zone restrictions will no longer be allowed to enter or leave their municipality or region without "proven" work or health-related reasons for doing so.
Bars and restaurants will close, though takeaway and delivery is still allowed.
READ ALSO: Italy's new coronavirus rules at a glance
People in red and orange zones are also asked not to move around within their municipality unless necessary.
The entire country remains under an evening curfew between 10pm and 5am.
Italy last week introduced the tiered system of restrictions, which is based on 21 different criteria, as it sought to avoid a second nationwide lockdown.
Doctors on Monday urged the government to put the whole country under lockdown.
However, Conte insisted again on Wednesday that he is trying to avoid tough national measures like those announced in March.
The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases since the pandemic began in Italy passed the symbolic one million mark on Wednesday, according to official data, as health experts said the coronavirus situation in Italy is now "out of control".
An epidemic is defined as 'out of control' “when positive cases exceed one percent of the population, and (on Wednesday) we broke through the threshold of one percent of the population currently being infected with Sars-Cov-2,” Dr Nino Cartabellotta, head of Italy’s evidence-based medicine foundation, Gimbe, told reporters on Thursday.
READ ALSO: Where to find the latest Covid-19 information for your region of Italy
Comments
See Also
As Italy continues to struggle with a worsening coronavirus situation in many parts of the country, the health ministry announced the regions of Campania and Tuscany will be designated high risk "red zones".
Three more regions, Emilia Romagna, Friuli Venezia Giulia and Marche went from being yellow to medium-risk orange zones.
Health Minister Roberto Speranza will sign an ordinance on Friday night, and the new restrictions come into force on Sunday November 15th.
AT A GLANCE: What are the coronavirus rules in my part of Italy now?
The change means Italy's regions are now divided into the following categories:
Red (high risk) zones: Calabria, Campania, Tuscany Lombardy, Piedmont, Valle d'Aosta, autonomous province of Bolzano (also known as Alto Adige/South Tyrol).
Orange (medium-high risk) zones: Abruzzo, Basilicata, Liguria, Puglia, Sicily, Marche, Umbria, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Yellow (moderate risk) zones: Lazio, Molise, Sardinia, Veneto, autonomous province of Trento (Trentino).
I've been updating this map of Italy's Covid-19 risk zones for 9 days now and the yellow parts are rapidly disappearing... https://t.co/XLvGCzhOKQ pic.twitter.com/RY9bU3tFwU
— Jessica Phelan (@JessicaLPhelan) November 13, 2020
The health ministry announced the new classifications as it revealed the latest national health data on Friday evening.
Italy recorded 40,902 new infections in the past 24 hours according to health ministry figures.
READ ALSO: 'We are afraid': Naples residents prepare for new restrictions as hospitals overwhelmed
This was the highest daily number yet. Italy also carried out the highest number of tests yet, at 254,908.
There were 550 more deaths in the same period.
There are now 3,230 patients in intensive care in Italy, and more than 33,000 people are now in hospital - around the same number as during the peak of the first wave, in April.
Red zone regions are under the maximum restrictions after Italy introduced its three-tier system last week.
The government has now updated the regional system twice since it was introduced on Friday November 6th.
Tuscany was declared on orange zone on Wednesday, while Campania had been designated a yellow zone until now.
READ ALSO: ‘No plan, just hope’: How is Italy going to get the second wave under control?
Ministers bumped up five regions from yellow to orange zone restrictions on Wednesday, after Monday's weekly monitoring report from the Ministry of Health and the Higher Health Institute (ISS).gave a worrying picture of the coronavirus situation across the country.
Veneto has declared itself "yellow plus" and, along with Emilia-Romagna and Friuli-Venezia Giulia, will introduce new regional ordinances urging residents to avoid exercising or simply strolling on the streets of their town centres.
Q&A: Your key questions about Italy's coronavirus rules answered
Central Milan stands near empty after the region of Lombardy was declared a red zone on Friday November 6th. Photo: AFP
An epidemic is defined as 'out of control' “when positive cases exceed one percent of the population, and (on Wednesday) we broke through the threshold of one percent of the population currently being infected with Sars-Cov-2,” Dr Nino Cartabellotta, head of Italy’s evidence-based medicine foundation, Gimbe, told reporters on Thursday.
READ ALSO: Where to find the latest Covid-19 information for your region of Italy
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.