HEALTH
Italy reports ‘warning signs’ of new virus spread after Rome outbreaks
Italy's top health authority urged caution on Friday after it reported seeing "warning signs" of renewed coronavirus transmission, especially over two new outbreaks of cases in Rome.
Published: 19 June 2020 19:19 CEST
Police tape off an apartment building in southern Rome where several cases of coronavirus were detected. Photo: Tiziana Fabi/AFP
In its weekly report, the Higher Institute of Health (ISS) said the situation was generally positive but that there was still “a significant circulation of the virus”.
“In some regions, a high number of new cases of COVID-19 infection continues to be reported,” the agency said in the report for the week June 8-14.
Lazio, the region including the capital Rome, topped the number of cases, exceeding Lombardy, the original epicentre of the epidemic in the country.
More than a hundred new cases of coronavirus were detected earlier this week in two outbreaks at a hospital and a squatted apartment building in Rome.
Health officials said rigorous contact tracing was underway.
The two new outbreaks of Covid-19 came as Italy was re-emerging from lockdown in a phased process that began in early May.
“This should encourage caution because it indicates that in certain parts of the country, the circulation of the virus is still significant,” the report said.
The epidemic has killed more than 34,500 people in Italy, since the first Italian case was recorded in Codogno in Lombardy in late February.
Italy, which went under nationwide quarantine on March 10th, has been one of the hardest-hit countries in the world by Covid-19.
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