Roundup: More regions tighten virus restrictions as Italy reports 35,098 new cases

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ROME, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Italy officially moved five regions and one province from the yellow zone (signaling low risk) to the orange zone (medium risk) on Tuesday, according to the three-tier system of restrictions implemented by the government to slow down the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

The five regions were central Tuscany, Abruzzo, Umbria, Liguria, and Basilicata, according to a ministerial decree issued by Health Minister Roberto Speranza. The northeast Autonomous Province of Bolzano added to them.

It came as the country registered 35,098 new coronavirus cases over the last 24 hours, including 16,776 new active infections.

Recoveries rose by 17,734 on a daily basis to total 363,023, while the death toll increased by 580 to 42,330. The country's total number of cases stood at 995,463, according to the Health Ministry.

8.5 MLN MORE UNDER STRICTER RULES

The decision to move the regions to the medium risk area came after a joint analysis of the country's epidemiological situation by the Health Ministry, the National Institute of Health (ISS), the scientific committee (CTS) counseling the cabinet, and regional authorities.

It was based on the ISS' latest monitoring report concerning the week between Oct. 26 and Nov. 1.

The provision will enter into force on Wednesday and last for 15 days, putting about 8.5 million more people under the second most restrictive framework of anti-COVID rules.

The new orange regions added to Puglia (3.9 million people) and Sicily (4.9 million), which had been declared medium-risk areas last week.

The assessment about which risk level each region should belong to is made based on 21 factors, the crucial ones being the virus transmission rate, the incidence of cases on the overall population, the number of outbreaks of unknown origins, and the resilience of local public health hospitals -- including the occupancy of intensive care units.

Besides respecting the national night curfew (10 p.m. to 5 a.m.) in place since Nov. 6 until Dec. 3, those living in the orange regions were prohibited from moving outside their region and between cities within it.

In addition, all restaurants, cafes and pubs were closed (they previously had to stop at 6 p.m.), but for delivery service.

These restrictions were still less severe than those imposed on the red regions, marked by the highest level of risk and subjected to a partial lockdown. These were currently Lombardy, Piedmont, Aosta Valley regions and the Alto Adige Autonomous Province in the north, and the Calabria region in the south.

Here, all non-essential shops were shut and all non-essential movements were prohibited, as well as moving from one city to another within the same region or to other parts of the country.

FURTHER REGIONAL ASSESSMENT EXPECTED

Up to Tuesday, all of the other Italian regions -- including central Lazio surrounding Rome -- remained in the yellow zone (low risk).

However, further decisions on whether to move more regions up in the risk level system could not be ruled out even in the short period.

Explaining the findings of the latest ISS' monitoring report on Tuesday, ISS President Silvio Brusaferro warned that four regions (Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Campania, and Friuli) were "moving toward a high-risk level."

"Anticipating the most restrictive measures there would be appropriate," he said.

"The incidence (of cases) is at a high level," the ISS chief explained. "We have registered 524 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants (national average) in the period that comprises data from Oct. 19 to Nov. 1."

As Italy and many parts of the world are struggling to contain the pandemic, countries around the world -- including Italy, France, China, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States -- are racing to find a vaccine. Enditem

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