Hospitals in the southern provinces of Italy are bracing themselves for a tsunami of new cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to pile up daily, signifying that the outbreak is shifting towards the South.
The provinces of Lazio, Campania and Puglia saw a steep rise in the cases of COVID-19 following the lockdown imposed in Lombardy on March 8.
The country, which has overtaken China in terms of number of the death toll, has been placed under a nationwide lockdown since March 11.
“Looking at the situation in central and southern Italy, you see cases increasing, especially over the last few days,” Giorgio Sestili, a physicist who collates data from scientists and sharing them through a COVID-19 dedicated page, told the Guardian.
Doctors have urged the government to conduct more testing in the south, especially among health workers who are fighting the disease despite the shortage of equipment and protective gear in the country.
Experts are wary that the outbreak in the poorer South would be catastrophic as the wealthier regions in the North particularly Lombardy are severely battered by the COVID-19 crisis.
Northern Italy is known for its world-class public healthcare is struggling to keep up with the onslaught of the virus.
Hospitals have been asked to carry out emergency operations and to do away from routine surgical operations to keep the intensive care ward as open as possible.
“The next few days will still be very difficult,” Sestili said.
He stressed that the performance of regions in the centre-south in the next few weeks will be crucial for Italy’s fight against the dreaded pandemic.
“If we succeed in keeping it under control there, we can hope for a positive outcome,” he added.
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