Health Minister Roberto Speranza
called for better EU coordination as he reported to parliament's
Schengen committee on Tuesday ahead of an EU meeting on the
coronavirus emergency on Thursday.
"Stronger coordination among the countries of the European
Union is needed," Speranza said.
"Faced with a health risk, Europe must be united".
Speranza said there were "no elements" to warrant suspending
the Schengen border-free zone.
He said there had so far been no cases in Africa but Italy
was monitoring the situation there.
Rome's Spallanzani Hospital said that a Chinese couple with
the coronavirus that it is treating have shown a "slight
improvement in their general condition".
The tourists remain in the intensive care department of the
hospital, which specialises in infectious diseases.
The couple came to Rome from Milan via Verona and Parma.
The Spallanzani is also treating an Italian national with the
coronavirus.
The young man was among a group of 56 people flown back to
Italy last week from Wuhan, the epicentre of the deadly
epidemic.
It said it had tested 58 people for the coronavirus,
including the three people who had registered positive results.
It said 46 were negative while the others were still in
hospital while they wait for the result of their tests.
Anthony Fauci, the director of the US's National Institute of
Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and one of the world's
most famous immunologists, told ANSA on Tuesday that a vaccine
to combat the 2019-nCov coronavirus should be ready for the
first tests in two or three months.
"We are working with the Moderna and the Coalition for
Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI)," Fauci told ANSA.
An expert meeting of the coronavirus task-force involving
Health Minister Roberto Speranza decided that Italy would leave
the duration for precautionary quarantine at 14 days.
There were reports on Monday that the deadly virus's
incubation period could be up to 24 days.
"The recent evidence provided by the European Centre for
Disease Prevention and Control, which put the incubation period
between two and 12 days, was taken into account and the maximum
limit of precaution has been left at 14 days," the experts said.
The Italian government plans to provide "maximum support" for
Italian businesses impacted by the coronavirus, Foreign Minister
Luigi Di Maio said Tuesday.
"The coronavirus epidemic will impact world commerce and
trade, Italy had invested in trade to the East and it is clear
that a phase is opening where we must give the maximum support
to firms to overcome this moment of difficulty", he said in
Skopje.
Di Maio said the foreign trade agency ICE "has 300 million
euros at its disposal and it will put it into redirecting
exports towards other markets".
"This 300 million euros will be funnelled by ICE into
boosting and backing Made in Italy brands and products", Di Maio
said in an interview with business daily Il Sole 24 Ore.
"It will be, first and foremost, our export component that
will enable Italy, via a targeted diversification of markets, to
cushion the possible slowdown of the world economy because of
the Chinese economy's slowdown after the spread of the
epidemic".
The US central bank is keeping watch for any impact from the
virus outbreak in China that could spread beyond its borders,
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Tuesday.
With the death toll now surpassing 1,000, transportation has
been cut off and businesses shuttered, which can delay shipments
of key parts to foreign manufacturers.
The Fed is "closely monitoring the emergence of the
coronavirus, which could lead to disruptions in China that spill
over to the rest of the global economy," Powell said in
testimony to Congress.
With the death toll now surpassing 1,000, transportation has
been cut off and businesses shuttered, which can delay shipments
of key parts to foreign manufacturers.
The Fed is "closely monitoring the emergence of the
coronavirus, which could lead to disruptions in China that spill
over to the rest of the global economy," Powell said in
testimony to Congress.
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