Coronavirus infections, hospitalizations in Italy rising over the last week

Rome [Italy], October 7:Italy appears to be heading for a new coronavirus wave, with surging infections and hospitalizations in the last week, according to data released Thursday by the Italian Ministry of Health.
On Thursday, the country registered nearly 45,000 new coronavirus cases, down slightly from a day earlier but still well above the average for the last month. According to the health data body Gimbe Foundation, the broad infection rate over the last week was 52 percent above the previous week.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday the daily infection rate of nearly 59,000 was the highest since August 2.
Health officials have cautioned that rates could rise further in the coming weeks, as cooler weather pushes more activities indoors.
The Gimbe Foundation reported that coronavirus-related admissions to intensive care units had surged 21 percent over the week ending on Tuesday, while general hospitalizations related to the pandemic were 32 percent higher.
The Ministry of Health said that the virus' positivity rate -- the percentage of tests producing a positive result for infection with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, has been around 20 percent for four of the last five days. This is double the rate of around 10 percent a month ago.
The total number of active coronavirus cases in Italy topped 500,000 on Thursday, for the first time in a month.
The developments come just as the last of the coronavirus health restrictions have been lifted. In September, Italian children returned to school with no mask or coronavirus testing requirements, and last Friday was the final day that masks were required on public transport in Italy.
Roberto Speranza, the outgoing minister of health, said the government would not implement new coronavirus health restrictions during the remainder of its mandate. Italy's newly-elected parliament will sit for the first time on Oct. 13, and the new government will be formed shortly afterwards.
Nevertheless, there are some positive outcomes regarding COVID-19, with the weekly mortality rate falling to 281 in the last week from 307 a week earlier. This remains far below weekly totals of more than 1,000 in July, and weekly totals approaching 2,000 in late 2021 and early 2022.
According to the Gimbe Foundation, the death rate declined 8.5 percent over the last week, and has now fallen for five consecutive weeks.
Source: Xinhua