Monte di Procida, schools closed and mini lock down due to too many infections

Schools closed and a ban on gatherings of more than 10 people in Monte di Procida where a worrying increase in coronavirus infections has recently been recorded.

Mayor Giuseppe Pugliese has signed an ordinance ordering a “mini lockdown” with a series of measures taken “as a precaution, temporarily and pending the completion of the necessary contact tracing to define epidemiological links”. The ordinance provides for the closure of all public and private schools, of all levels, for tomorrow, Monday 12 October, and Tuesday 13 October, and the prohibition for Montesi citizens, even in the case of celebrations (the ordinance explicitly mentions the case of communions), to gather in groups of more than 10 people even in restaurants, halls or bars.

“On such occasions,” the ordinance states, “it will be possible to meet while wearing a mask, with the strict exception of meal times.” The ordinance also provides for the closure of gaming rooms and betting shops, the suspension of all public events and demonstrations, the closure of senior centers, recreational clubs and gyms and the suspension of all sports activities, both individual and team, both professional and amateur. Finally, children's play areas are also closed. Mayor Pugliese explained that there are 11 new positive cases, a figure that brings the total of currently positive cases to 33 “of which 10 were officially communicated by the ASL and 23 are from swabs carried out at private facilities. The latest fellow citizens who tested positive are mostly asymptomatic, some have mild symptoms.” The mayor of Monte di Procida concluded by addressing the citizens: “Let's not panic and let's respect the rules.”

In the meantime, the ASL Napoli 2 Nord has warned the Municipality of Monte di Procida against carrying out screenings on citizens suspected of being infected with Covid-19 "using a private laboratory not authorized for this activity". The Company was informed by some general practitioners "that a private laboratory, which would not be accredited for the processing of swabs, would be carrying out tests for Covid-19. In light of this information - reads a note - the Prevention Department of the ASL Napoli 2 Nord has warned the Municipality of Monte di Procida against carrying out this activity. The reliability of the Covid-19 test is essential to limit the contagion and avoid the possibility that infected patients, who result as false negatives, can transmit the virus. For this reason, the Campania Region has authorized only private centers with an operational capacity sufficient to guarantee the reliability of this test to carry out tests for Covid-19". The staff of the Health Authority has started checks on the laboratory involved in the incident "to verify whether the conditions for the applicability of the sanctions provided for carrying out unauthorized health activities exist". In these cases, the ASL emphasizes, "sanctions may be foreseen that go as far as revoking the agreement with the Health Service". For today, in Monte di Procida, the ASL will set up an extraordinary swab point at the Municipality to screen approximately 200 people, participants in a wedding that recorded the presence of some positive cases. This activity was planned to verify the results of the swabs carried out irregularly and to have certainty about the infections.