Italy’s government has ordered the closure of all schools in regions hardest hit by the coronavirus amid rising fears over new variants of the disease. Italy was one of the first countries in Europe to see COVID-19 on a large scale in February 2020, and it has registered nearly three million confirmed cases since then. It is now seeing around 15,000 new cases per day and the trend is rising, putting the health system under strain. In recent weeks, the incidence of new cases among young people has overtaken that seen among the older population – a reversal of what was seen earlier in the pandemic. The UK variant accounted for 54% of confirmed cases as at 18 February, according to Silvio Brusaferro, president of the government’s Superior Institute of Health. Advertisement But he added: “If measured today surely the percentage would be higher.” The variant first reported in Brazil has been found in 4.3% of cases, particularly in central Italy, including Rome, while the variant first found in South Africa accounts for 0.4% of cases and is mainly confined to the Italian Alpine area near the Austrian border, he said. More from Covid-19 COVID-19: Over-45s now able to book… Read full this story
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