Coronavirus hospitalizations on rise in Italy's southern regions
By Xinhua
ROME, Italy -- Italy's island regions of Sicily and Sardinia are at risk of becoming the first two regions to lose their status as low-risk "white" health zones in weeks as the coronavirus pandemic gains traction there, data released by the Ministry of Health on Tuesday showed.
Over 14 percent of coronavirus patients in Sicily have been hospitalized, according to the latest data. Calabria, the neighboring region at the toe of Italy's boot-shaped peninsula, is also close to reclassification as a "yellow" zone, with 11.4 percent of its infected population hospitalized.
Italy's coronavirus rules require any region with a hospitalization rate higher than 15 percent to move into the "yellow" category the following Monday.
All told, seven of Italy's 20 regions saw an increase in hospitalizations over the last week, the first time that has happened since early this year.
The risk in Sardinia is the percentage of hospitalized patients who are in intensive-care units: 11.2 percent. The threshold there is 10 percent, meaning the region is likely to see its status change on Monday unless there is a dramatic reduction in the number of intensive-care patients in the coming days.
If Sicily, Sardinia, or Calabria were declared "yellow" zones starting next Monday, it would be the first time since late June that any of Italy's 20 regions were classified outside the "white" category.
After Sicily and Calabria, the next highest regions based on the overall hospitalization rate are Sardinia at 7.4 percent and Campania, the region that includes Naples, at 7.0 percent.
Based on the percentage of patients in intensive-care units, the biggest risks following Sardinia are Sicily at 6.8 percent, Lazio, the region that includes the capital of Rome, at 6.7 percent, and the coastal region of Liguria, at 6.5 percent.
By both measures -- total hospitalizations or intensive-care unit patients -- the national averages are still within the established limits at 5.2 and 3.7 percent, respectively.
Regions in the "yellow" category will see restrictions on movement within the region and earlier closing times for restaurants and bars. No Italian regions are seen as at risk of being classified as more restrictive "orange" or "red" zones.
On Tuesday, the country reported 5,636 new cases and 31 new deaths over the past 24 hours.
According to the latest data from the Ministry of Health, some 34.9 million Italian residents have been completely vaccinated, or 64.5 percent of the country's population aged 12 or older.