ROME: Italy’s health system collapsed as the second wave of the novel coronavirus hit the country and tragic scenes can be seen in the hospitals.
According to the details, Italy reported as many as 39,811 fresh coronavirus cases and 425 overnight on Saturday. In over-crowded hospitals, coronavirus patients on ventilators can be seen lined up in the corridors while some patients are being given oxygen on stretchers as the country runs out of beds.
A total of 41,063 people have now died because of COVID-19 in Italy, which has registered some 902,490 coronavirus infections since the start of its outbreak.
The northern region of Lombardy, centred on Italy’s business capital Milan, remained the hardest hit area, reporting 11,489 new cases on Saturday against 9,934 on Friday. The neighbouring Piedmont region was the second-worst affected, chalking up 4,437 cases versus 4,878 the day before.
Italy has approved a new aid package to cushion the blow to the economy from restrictions it introduced earlier this week in an effort to stem a resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The measures agreed by cabinet overnight are worth 2.9 billion euros ($3.4 billion), a person with knowledge of the matter said.
Coronavirus curbs which came into force on Friday divide the country into three zones according to the severity of the latest outbreak, Mail Online reported.
‘We have increased compensations because we realised that what was granted for the spring lockdown wasn’t enough,’ Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told Corriere della Sera daily in an interview. ‘We’ve also widened the number of beneficiaries.’
The package provides funds for childcare or work leave for parents who are not able to work from home, after the government moved classes online for high schools and the last two years of middle school.
Conte said funds had also been set aside for regions that could turn into high-risk zones under the current system, which has been attacked by some politicians in the worst-hit areas.
‘There’s no turning back. The alternative is to shut down the entire country causing enormous damage. It would not be a case of ‘a sorrow shared is a sorrow halved’, just disaster for everyone,’ Conte said.
