Bergamo Mayor sounds alarm abot infection rate

The mayor of the Italian city of Bergamo, one of the areas hardest hit by the spread of the new coronavirus, has sounded an alarm on the real number of infection rates in the city, saying it could be much higher than official statistics.

According to unofficial figures, more than 600 people infected with the virus have died in the region of Lombardy - home to Bergamo - which is tucked up against the Italian Alps and accounts for more than a quarter of all deaths, even though it represents only a tenth of the region's population of 10 million.

Provincial mayors now say the virus-related toll fails to reflect a spike in deaths in the general population among those who have not been tested.

"There is a very wide gap, which is confirmed by the concrete experience of so many families who have elderly people who are dying either at home or in hospices," said Bergamo Mayor Giorgio Gori.

Last week alone, 400 people died in Bergamo and 12 neighbouring towns - four times the number who died the same week the previous year, according to the mayor’s office.

Only 91 of those had tested positive for the virus.

The cause of death is "mainly pneumonia" said Gori, "but go unaccounted and are not registered as victims of the virus, because nobody tested these elderly people either before or after their death".

In the epidemic’s fourth week, Dr. Luca Lorini, the head of intensive care at Bergamo’s main hospital, estimates that the true number of infected in the area is 5 to 10 times the official figure of 4,645.

The current regimen allows testing only of people who show up at a screening area at the hospital with severe symptoms, missing people who are sick at home.

People on the front lines of the virus fight, including hospital officials, funeral operators, city administrators and union leaders, told The Associated Press that Bergamo’s crisis might have been prevented had their individual requests to create a red zone around the area as early as Feb. 23 been heeded.

Instead, strict containment measures were extended to Bergamo only on March 8, two weeks later, without ever isolating two valley towns where the outbreak was first recorded.

In order to contain the contagion, Gori is further asking both the Lombardy region and the national government to shut down more non-essential factories so to further limit the movement of the employees.

The mayor is also issuing tougher measures to limit and public gathering and recently banned the use of slot machines inside tobacconist shops and ordered to shut down the local public Wi-Fi spots where internet users were congregate to use the free connection.

In addition, authorities are supporting an initiative to call more doctors to come and help their colleagues in the local hospitals.

Bergamo's main hospital has been stretched due to a large amount of patients, with both medical workers and the intensive care department struggling to cope.

To cope with the lack of beds and medical staff, the city is acting firmly by building giant centralized first aid and triage ward at a record pace in tents inside the local trade fair venue.

Italy has 47,021 confirmed cases of the virus, with 4,032 dead.

Italy's health care system has been overwhelmed by the virus - on Thursday a visiting Chinese Red Cross team criticised the failure of Italians to fully quarantine and take the national lockdown seriously.

Further restrictive measures could be issued by the government in the next few days.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough.  For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover from the new virus.

According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.

The coronavirus has infected more than 275,000 people and killed more than 11,300. Almost 88,000 people have recovered so far, mostly in China.