New Coronavirus Has Already Weakened, Italian Experts Claim

A top Italian doctor has claimed that the new coronavirus is losing its potency, making it much less lethal. He has also claimed that the virus is no longer clinically existent in Italy and that the COVID-19 disease that affected thousands of Italians two months ago was much stronger than the COVID-19 disease that the country is dealing with today.

On Sunday, Alberto Zangrillo, the head of San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, said there is evidence that the new coronavirus has already weakened. “In reality, the virus clinically no longer exists in Italy,” he said. “The swabs that were performed over the last 10 days showed a viral load in quantitative terms that was absolutely infinitesimal compared to the ones carried out a month or two months ago,” he added.

Since COVID-19 hit the country on Feb. 21, Italy has recorded at least 233,019 cases of the coronavirus. It currently has the third highest death toll in the world, with 33,415 people dying from the disease.

With the new infections and fatalities declining since May, Zangrillo said some experts are “alarmists” for warning the people about the prospect of a second wave of infections. Zangrillo said experts and politicians should take into account the new reality and should not terrorize the people.

“We’ve got to get back to being a normal country,” he said. “Someone has to take responsibility for terrorizing the country,” he added.

Another doctor from northern Italy also claimed that the coronavirus had already weakened, saying COVID-19 today is different from it was before. “The strength the virus had two months ago is not the same strength it has today,” said Matteo Bassetti, head of the infectious diseases clinic at the San Martino hospital in Genoa.

Despite Zangrillo and Bassetti’s claims, the government said it’s too early to claim victory. Sandra Zampa, the undersecretary of Italy’s health ministry, said people should continue to take caution as long as there is no solid evidence to support the claim that the virus has already disappeared. “I would invite those who say they are sure of it not to confuse Italians,” she said.