Epiphany’s Impact: Reduced Testing, Increased Vaccinations in Campania

Campania’s COVID-19 testing decreased to 12,000 yesterday, a typical decline for public holidays, compared to 17,000 tests two days prior. Consequently, the region’s positivity rate rose to 8.81%, exceeding the national average which jumped significantly to 14.85%. The regional Crisis Unit reported 1,052 new infections (down from 1,366 the previous day) identified from 11,930 processed tests (compared to 17,212 previously). Of these new cases, 115 individuals presented symptoms. Recoveries also decreased, totaling 997 (compared to 1,364 the previous day). There were 39 deaths (19 the previous day), with 8 occurring in the previous 48 hours. Intensive care unit admissions dropped slightly to 96 (from 99), occupying 96 of 656 available beds, while regular ward admissions increased to 1,385 (from 1,362) using 1,385 of 3,160 available beds. Nationwide, Italy recorded 18,020 new COVID-19 cases (20,331 the previous day) from 121,275 tests (178,596 the day before), resulting in the elevated national positivity rate. The death toll rose to 414 (from 548). Nationally, hospitalizations increased; intensive care unit admissions climbed to 2,587, and regular ward admissions reached 23,291. Campania administered 31,273 COVID-19 vaccine doses yesterday (compared to 23,648 the previous day), out of 57,270 doses of the Pfizer vaccine received. This places Campania as the seventh region in terms of vaccination percentage (54.6%). A significant 8,788 of these vaccinations were administered to the 50-59 age group; further significant vaccinations were reported in other age groups (7,830 in the 60-69 age group, 6,188 in 40-49, 5,203 in 30-39, 2,456 in 20-29, 605 in 70-79, 130 in 80-89 and 73 in the 90+ age group). Vaccine recipients included 27,164 healthcare workers, 3,766 non-healthcare workers, and 343 residents of long-term care facilities. Nationally, 326,649 citizens (260,948 the previous day) had received the vaccine.