Abrupt return to the past. Covid is worrying again. As the government looks to further ease the lockdown measures of recent months with the launch of the rave decree, here we are again talking about the rise in infections and how not to fall back into the nightmare. What is scary is the explosion of Covid cases in China. Italy’s reply arrived yesterday. A decree by Health Minister Orazio Schillaci has reintroduced swabs at airports to check travelers arriving from the Asian country. This makes us the first in Europe. The fear is that new variants will arrive and we will return to an emergency.
Two things are at stake: on the one hand, any danger of a new wave must be contained immediately, on the other hand, the current majority has repeatedly criticized the leadership of previous governments in the fight against Covid. So now the Meloni government – with the finance law yet to be finalized – faces a new problem: not to return to the devastating situation of the first Covid wave, while remaining true to the promise of a “change of course” (words often used by the Prime Minister) in the fight against the pandemic. In the background is a high element: many structures that were created ad hoc in the previous waves have been set aside.
Covid, the tests are back at the airport
Beijing’s decision to reopen its borders after three years amid the wave sweeping the country requires other countries to act. In Italy, as mentioned, the smear obligation for travelers from China applies. In his decree, Minister Schillaci also ordered the virus to be sequenced to identify any variants. In fact, airports are the first “filter”, and the screening aims to “photograph” the situation throughout the national territory in real time.
In Fiumicino today, December 29, the first test bed with the landing of a plane from Beijing around 6.30 a.m. The Covid testing area at Rome Airport, located in the arrivals hall of Terminal 3, was due to close at the end of the year but will remain active as the situation and new regulations evolve. The tests are carried out under the supervision of the Spallanzani Institute and with the support of the regional Oscars: these are teams of doctors and nurses who also carry out an emergency response as part of the sequencing activity. Those who test positive will be isolated in health facilities if their condition requires hospitalization or, if they do not have serious symptoms, they must declare the residence where they intend to spend the isolation period they must comply with.
The fear of the new Covid variants
The request for “increased surveillance through testing” for those arriving from China was solicited in these hours by the Spallanzani Institute. One document states that the increase in surveillance level is to “monitor the emergence of new variants and to intercept the arrival of new variants early, both as new advancements of Omicron and new variants outside of Omicron, and to prepare for any selective quarantine measures.” . The risk, Spallanzani explains, is that the new variant “transfers the evolution of Sars-Cov-2 beyond Omicron, the dominant variant at the global level since the end of 2021” and in this context the possible new threat posed by the The new wave in China “must be fought with immediate and coordinated measures so as not to slow down the adaptation path that the virus has taken thanks to the push of “vaccines and medicines” in various areas”. All eyes are on the XBB.1.5 subvariant of the virus, also known as Gryphon.
What we know about the new Chinese Gryphon variant
The XBB.1.5 sub-variant – or Gryphon – has been circulating in China since October. It arises from the recombination of two other omicron subvariants: BA.2.1 and BA.2.1. The same subvariant quickly spread to at least nine other countries, six of which are European. In addition to Italy, where it made up 1.82% of the SarsCoV2 virus in circulation on December 27, it was found in France (1.22%), Belgium (4.56%), Germany (2.05%), Spain (2.61%) and the United Kingdom (5.44%), as reported on the Our World in Data website, citing data on the genetic sequences of the virus deposited in Gisaid’s international database. Gryphon is also present in Australia (3.33%), Canada (1.93%) and the United States (13.42%). In particular, it appears to be related to the recent 140% surge in hospitalizations in New York over the past month.
The mutation, called F486P, would allow the subvariant to spread rapidly, which would allow it to escape the antibodies produced by both Omicron-5 infections and vaccines, and also link with that found on human cells Strengthen Ace2 receptor. Mutations have also been detected in the spike protein, the molecular claw the virus uses to attach itself to human cells, as well as four mutations in the N-nucleoprotein, which has the function of protecting the viral genome, and five in the enzyme virus necessary for this to reproduce its genetic material.
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All of Europe is moving against Covid
Health Minister Schillaci spoke yesterday in the Council of Ministers and will report today in the Senate: “We are very calm – he said – at the moment there are no concerns.
However, the executive is calling on all of Europe to act. On this front, too, there is a fear of seeing a film already seen: in the early stages of the pandemic, Italy was left “alone” in a struggle that only later became global. Schillaci wrote to the EU Health Commissioner and called for a “coordinated” approach. “We sent a letter to the European Commissioner for Health – explains Schillaci – to indicate that we have taken this measure and that it would be very useful to have a connection at European level and to have similar initiatives across Europe. Because if there are any direct flights from China, since many Chinese passengers come to Italy via Schengen countries, it is obvious and important to involve the other European countries in the initiative.” At the same time, Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini said he was in contact with the Commissioner for Transport Adina Valean and asked for controls in all EU countries.
A first reply will arrive today because “given the current situation in China regarding Covid, the European Commission has convened the Health Security Committee to discuss possible measures for a coordinated approach with Member States and European authorities”.
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The ones that have already moved are the regions. The experience of the past few years has not been discarded. We want to avoid repeating issues that are still in progress. The governors had already taken action and provided for non-mandatory swabs showing one of two positive results arriving in Malpensa from China. For other measures, the Lombard city councilor Guido Bertolaso had already announced that with Minister Schillaci “we shared the need to await the results of the sequencing”.