Monaco’s neighbour Italy is finally getting a bit of good news on the coronavirus front as both the number of new cases and the death tolls begin to take a downward slide.
In the nightmare that has been their reality since the outbreak of the Covid-19 virus in the country back in February, the Italians are finally seeing some encouraging statistics and results.
The civil protection service reported only 525 official Covid-19 deaths on Sunday, the lowest since 19^thMarch. The number of new cases sat at 4,316 as the slow decline appears to show more than a blip, but actual progress.
The number of those hospitalised or in intensive care in the disease-ravaged nation is also seeing a decline for the first time since the epidemic took hold. The modest decrease, from 29,010 to 28,949 overall patients and 3,994 to 3,977 ICU patients may not appear to be much improvement, but for over-worked hospital workers, this serves as a glimmer of hope.
The downward trend in Italy is being mirrored in other hard hit countries such as Spain and France, who are both seeing declines in both new cases and deaths.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte put the country on lockdown on 10^th March and placed further limits of movement as things continued to deteriorate.
“Our response has not been perfect, maybe, but we have been acting to the best of our knowledge,” Conte said to NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday. “Today, I see that our model is implemented by other countries and its validity has been acknowledged by the [World Health Organisation], and the results so far indicate that we are on the right path.”
Despite the progress, officials don’t have plans to ease lockdown or social distancing rules anytime soon. As the light at the end of the tunnel seems to be appearing in the distance, the strict measures that are in place in Monaco, Italy, France and across much of Europe will probably not change for some time. Medical experts agree the most sensible way to stop the rapid spread of the virus is social distancing. With less new cases, the health care systems of countries feeling the strain will be lessened, ensuring local health care facilities aren’t overrun with infected patients.
This small sacrifice is helping slowly but surely to flatten the curve that spiralled upward for the past few weeks.
Monaco’s number has stayed fairly small with 73 confirmed cases and two deaths. Of the confirmed cases, two were high-profile – both HSH Prince Albert II and Minister of State Serge Telle were infected, though both have been given the all-clear now by their doctors.