Italy: swab-testing, flexibility key to schools reopening

Italy's deputy health minister says the government is still hammering out the protocols for the reopening of schools next month, but the key will be flexibility and widespread swab testing.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, Pierpaolo Sileri explained the government's reactions would depend on how many students test positive for the virus when schools reopen.

He said prompt swab-testing would be crucial to draw a perimeter around each cluster. If necessary, the whole class would be sent home and the school would be closed to bring the infections under control.

Most Italian schools are set to open in September, but government officials and unions are still in heated discussions over the details of specialised desks, space in classrooms and requests for teachers to be tested before returning to the classroom.

Over the past few weeks with Italians returning from vacations and a huge increase in testing, Italy has seen its numbers of infections creep up to over 1,000 last week.

Sileri said that recent increases in positive cases were mostly among the young who have displayed few or no symptoms so not of great concern and not comparable to the "tsunami" the country experienced last spring.

He encouraged the public to remain vigilant to use masks, maintain social distances and frequently wash their hands.

Italy was the first country in Europe to get hit with the coronavirus with most of the cases among the elderly.

Hospitals in the north were overwhelmed with patients and there were not enough beds in the intensive care units.

So far over 35,000 people have died from the virus and the country has recorded a total of over 261,000 infections.

Italy has significantly increased its testing, requiring tests at airports for passengers arriving from Spain, Greece, Croatia and Malta.

Sileri also indicated that it would be useful for European nations to come up with a common policy for testing travellers in airports.