The Ghanaian ambassador to Italy, H.E Mrs. Eudora Quartey Koranteng has disclosed COVID-19 cases in Italy skyrocketed at the initial stages, not because of negligence and oversight by the Italian government.
According to her, the proper medical system which increases life expectancy in the ‘Holy’ country is what caused Italy to record high cases of COVID-19 hence, becoming the epicentre at the time.
Speaking in a special virtual conference on the theme: “COVID-19 in Europe: Sharing the Italy Experience, she told host Raymond Nyamador, “Italy is a family-oriented country and has put in place strong Medicare structures which ensure that there are higher levels of life expectancy. And this has led to a high number of the population being the old. Italy became a victim of its own best practices.”
She noted that with a population which has a larger number being the aged and also have some underlying health conditions and quite frail immune systems, it is no surprise their death tolls and infection rates were high.
To her, the aged did not voluntarily expose themselves to the virus but were infected by their loved ones who went out and brought the virus home.
As of 7 June 2020, Italy has 35,262 active cases, one of the highest in the world. Overall there have been 234,998 confirmed cases and 33,899 deaths with people between the ages of 60-90years forming 94.5 % of total deaths.
By 7 June, Italy had tested about 2,627,000 people. Due to the limited number of tests performed, the real number of infected people in Italy, as in other countries, is estimated to be higher than the official count.