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Updated December 24th, 2021 at 15:44 IST

Omicron COVID variant expected to become predominant in Italy, says health body

Italy tightened anti-pandemic rules during the Christmas and New Year holidays in wake of the rising concerns over Omicron cases across the country.

Reported by: Bhavya Sukheja
Omicron
IMAGE: AP/UNSPLASH | Image:self
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After being hit by the delta variant, Italy is struggling with the rapid emergence of the new Omicron coronavirus strain which is set to become dominant in the nation, according to health experts. New cases have been found in the northern and southern parts of the country, Italy's national health institute (ISS) said on Saturday. It was reported that 84 cases of the new strain had been found on Saturday, rising from 55 on Friday.

In the recent few weeks, new cases of infections and deaths have been on the rise. Around 33 cases were found in the Lombardy region in northern Italy and another 20 in the southern region of Campania. On Saturday, Italy reported 123 coronavirus-related deaths and 28,064 new infections.

"Although preliminary, the estimate confirms the great rapidity of the variant spread, which seems to produce large outbreaks in a short time, and it is expected to become predominant, as it is already occurring in several other European countries," ISS president Silvio Brusaferro said in a statement.

Even though the spread of coronavirus has increased significantly in Italy, as is evident from the burgeoning surge of new infections and deaths, yet the daily figures have so far remained below that of some other major European countries like France and England. Nonetheless, the surge is significant, with over 44,500 new infections over the 24 hours on Thursday, which marked the highest daily increase since the beginning of the pandemic in Italy.

Italy tightens anti-pandemic rules 

Earlier this week, the Italian government made a decision to tighten anti-pandemic rules during the Christmas and New Year holidays in wake of the rising concerns over Omicron cases across the country. The cabinet unanimously approved a decree to introduce new restrictions which will be initiated in the next few days. This will also include prohibiting public gatherings for Christmas and New Year's Eve. The decision was made soon after several mayors and regional authorities cancelled all upcoming public events.

According to the new rule, discos and nightclubs have to stay closed until Jan 31, 2022. The validity of the health green pass certificate has been reduced from nine months to six months in order to “stem the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant”, Health Minister Roberto Speranza told a press conference. The required time between the complete, full vaccination (two doses) and the administration of a booster dose has also been reduced from five months to four months.

"This is a difficult phase... and we are implementing measures that we think will provide further protection to citizens and to our public health system," the minister said.

(With inputs from ANI)

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Published December 24th, 2021 at 15:44 IST

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