Italy has 2,651 new cases! How much has it increased compared to the previous day? Why is the local epidemic so serious?

According to the latest news from Dutch media BNO Newsroom and AFP, Italy has 2,651 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. How much has that increased from the day before? Why is the local epidemic so serious?

1. What happened to the 2,651 new cases in Italy? How much has it increased compared to the previous day?

At 18:00 local time on March 12, Angelo Borrelli, head of Italy's civil protection department and commissioner of the coronavirus emergency committee, said at a regular epidemic press conference that the country currently has 12,839 cases of COVID-19, including 1,153 severe patients; a total of 1,258 people have been cured; 189 new deaths have been reported, and the total number of deaths is 1,016.

As of now, Italy has confirmed a total of 15,113 cases of COVID-19, an increase of 2,651 from the previous day.

2. Why is the local epidemic so serious?

1. Large elderly population

The report said that Italy has the largest elderly population in Europe, with people aged 65 and above accounting for nearly a quarter (22%) of the total population. The median age of its population (46.5 years) ranks fifth highest in the world.

By comparison, the median age of the UK population is 40.6 years (18% are over 65 years old) and the median age of the US population is 38.5 years (17% are over 65 years old).

It is reported that the older the patient is, the greater the chance of death from the new coronavirus infection. Age is one of the biggest risk factors in this outbreak because older people have weaker immune systems and lungs themselves, making them less able to fight off pneumonia.

2. Cases are relatively concentrated

Additionally, Italy's coronavirus cases could be particularly dangerous because most are concentrated in a small area. The worst-hit regions are Lombardy and Veneto in the north.

As a result, local hospitals are under tremendous pressure, which means patients may not get the high-quality care they need and the virus is more likely to spread in overloaded hospitals.

3. The origin of the epidemic can be traced back to December

In fact, the measures taken by Italy in the early stage were very timely. On January 30th local time, Italy confirmed its first two cases of COVID-19, a pair of Chinese tourists. On the same day, Prime Minister Conte announced the suspension of all flights to and from China; on January 31, Italy declared a six-month state of emergency across the country. Everything was calm after that, but the epidemic suddenly broke out on a large scale on February 22, and the Lombardy region, with the most prosperous economy, was the first to be hit.

The situation took a turn for the worse overnight, in part because no one realized that the virus had been spreading quietly in Italy for a long time.

According to Al Jazeera, a hospital in Milan tested three virus samples from the Lombardy region after the outbreak and found that the virus may have existed in Italy a few weeks before February 20, even before the ban on flights to and from China was issued.

Massimo Galli, head of the hospital's infectious diseases department, told Corriere della Sera: "The virus has an incubation period after entering Italy, and many infected people in the early stages have very mild symptoms or even no symptoms at all." He believes that the virus may have entered the country as early as mid-January.

However, from the end of January to February 20, all of Italy's epidemic prevention policies focused on preventing imported cases from abroad, with almost no management within the country. The public lacked vigilance and sensitivity to the virus, and even the first non-imported case was not discovered and controlled in a timely manner.

On February 20, Italy's first confirmed case occurred in the Lombardy region, a 38-year-old man. From the time the man developed symptoms to the time he was arranged for testing, he visited the doctor four times, which took a full week. Because he had no travel history to China, the hospital prescribed him influenza drugs in the first few times.

Even in the 36 hours before the test, the hospital did not isolate him. He was able to meet many friends, family members and medical staff without any hindrance.