The Italian doctors’ federation is calling for the government to impose a nationwide lockdown, fearing that the country’s healthcare system could otherwise collapse.
The government has come in for widespread criticism for its handling of this “second wave” of the virus, The Guardian reports, as opposed to at the onset of the pandemic, when solidarity was high, despite the mounting death toll.
52% of Italy’s hospital beds are now occupied by coronavirus patients, and nine of Italy’s 21 regions and provinces are “red” zones, with over 50% of their hospitals occupied by Covid-19 patients. In some areas, coronavirus occupancy rates are over 90% and in one region, South Tyrol, 99% of hospital beds have been given to coronavirus patients.
Many hospitals have now closed surgical, pediatric, and geriatric wards to make room for the ongoing influx of Covid-19 patients, and many non-urgent procedures have been cancelled.