The governor of the Veneto region, Luca Zaia, who had ceased the daily covid-19 press conferences on 30 June after 130 days, once again summoned journalists on 3 July and was furious.

"We have gone from low risk to high risk. We have a RT of 1.63%. I don't know whom to congratulate. If we keep going around without using masks, and we keep thinking that the conspiracies are right and the virus is an invention, it is inevitable".

The contagion figures, based on the famous "R with t", went from 0.43 to 1.63.

“I tell you I saw a young man with two lungs transplanted because Covid destroyed them. We have encephalitis, heart problems, kidney problems, people who have lost mobility. This is a virus that hurts. Don't ask yourselves whether the virus will be back or not, because we already have it here,” continued the governor.

Zaia is enraged. He stated, "Thanks to someone's irresponsible behaviour we have new cases. We have 5 positive cases (3 in Vicenza, 1 in Padua and 1 in Verona) that have determined isolation for almost 80 people. A gentleman returned on June 25th from a business trip to Serbia, and symptoms appeared immediately. The next day he was in contact with many people, including at a private party, business meetings and a funeral. Just three days later, on the 28th, he went to the hospital and was offered hospitalization. This gentleman refused. He refused? The hospitalization must be forced. He is now in intensive care. He gave us a list of contacts from the 23rd to the 30^th of June, which means that even with the positive swab he was in close contact with others".

A new, more strict ordinance for the Veneto Region is expected to be enforced on Monday.

Ph: La Repubblica