MILAN – Both the English and South African variant of coronavirus have now been found in the north of Italy, amid fears about the effectiveness of the vaccines and the possible reintroduction of red zones.

  A man travelling back from a southern African country has tested positive for the South African variant at Milan Malpensa Airport, the same airport where the Brazilian variant was detected on Jan. 25. The local health authority in Lombardy have given assurance that all the current protocols are being followed and that there is “no cause for alarm”, however, “the level of attention on the part of the health authority remains extremely high.”

  The English variant is already spreading through Lombardy, where Brescia recorded 429 new cases and Milan 395. However, experts are not too worried about the English variant as it has already shown to respond well to the vaccine. They are not yet as sure about the South African variant.

  The Italian government are working hard to accelerate the vaccine rollout, which has already faced weeks of delays. The AstraZeneca vaccine, supposedly to rolled out from Monday, will be administered initially only to under 55 year olds with essential jobs such as teachers, police and the armed forces, as well as those in jail. The Pfizer and Moderna jabs will be prioritised for those most vulnerable over the age of 80.

  The Welfare Assessor for Lombardy Letizia Moratti has also asked Domenico Arcuri, the commissioner for the containment of the pandemic, to consider the possibility of utilising the Russian vaccine ‘Sputnik’. Moratti has also suggested that Italy adhere to the plan already underway in many European countries of lengthening the interval between the two jabs so as to guarantee that as many people can get the first jab as possible.

  The delay in the rollout of the vaccines, as well as the detection of the new variants, has led to some fearing, or perhaps welcoming, the reintroduction of local red zones in the worst hit areas, such as the parts of northern Lombardy victim to the English variant.

  Italy’s positivity rate is currently at 4.7 per cent, with 13,189 new cases and 476 new deaths. Since March Italy has had the most coronavirus related deaths in the EU with 89,820, though the UK has had over 100,000.

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