COVID Cases Surge in Italy: Nearly 53% Increase Reported in One Week

The latest bulletin from the Italian National Institute of Health and the Ministry of Health regarding the trend of Covid infections in Italy reports an increase of almost 53% in the week from July 18 to July 24 compared to the previous week. The number of cases rose from 8,942 to 13,672, and the number of deaths also increased by 32%, from 40 to 52. The regions with more than two thousand reported cases are Campania (2,492), Lombardy (2,453), and Lazio (2,178). Then there are Veneto (1,152) and Puglia (1,101), while the other regions have fewer than a thousand positive cases. The positivity rate is 13.8%. However, it is important to always remember that these are underestimated numbers, because today not everyone with Covid symptoms gets tested, not to mention the asymptomatic. The transmission index Rt is above the epidemic threshold of 1, but it is stable: on July 15 it was 1.24, while the previous week it was 1.20.