Italy to reopen schools on 14 September
Italy's schools are to reopen on 14 September following a nationwide covid-19 lockdown that began on 5 March. The news, announced by Italy's premier Giuseppe Conte and education minister Lucia Azzolina on 26 June, came after a deal was reached between the central government, regional authorities and the national association of school principals.
Italy's coronavirus data still positive despite cluster outbreaks in 11 hotspots
Data related to Italy's coronavirus outbreak remained largely positive on Sunday, even as local health officials in 11 parts of the country reported small, isolated outbreaks of the virus.
Pontifical universities in Rome gear up for in-person classes this fall
With coronavirus restrictions continuing to relax throughout Europe, pontifical universities in Rome are busy planning for an in-person academic year with new health and sanitation measures in place to ensure the virus doesn’t spread.
Austrade regional market update on the impact of COVID-19 (as at 14 July 2020)
Italian universities will offer around 200 new courses in the 2020-21 academic year, increasing the total number of courses available to a record of over 5,000. The new courses offered include a focus on engineering, medicine and biotech.
Has the coronavirus changed? Virologists in Italy debate.
De Maria said the virus that causes COVID-19 could behave like other coronaviruses, which replicate less during the summer, with fewer symptoms, but come back with a vengeance in cooler months. “The more the virus circulates [in the population], the more likely it will be,” he said.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Italian health care system has nearly doubled the country’s ICU units and employed over 27,000 medical staff. The government has invested more in the public health care system in the past five months than it has over the past five years, a health ministry spokesman said.
But, scientists warn, it’s not yet clear whether Italy is prepared for the possibility of a violent second wave in the fall.
New Virus Surge Has U.S., Other Nations in Tight Spot – WSJ
Italy, the first country outside Asia to be hit badly by the virus, reacted late and had the world's deadliest outbreak until the U.S. overtook its death toll. But since Italy reopened in May, infections have continued to decline, to around 200 a day currently. Many of those are asymptomatic cases discovered via large-scale blood testing -- detection capabilities that Italy didn't have before. Italy remains nervous about the danger of the virus bouncing back if people relax too much or too many cases evade its new test-and-trace systems.
Europe's lessons on reopening schools
…Italy is asking schools to open on Saturdays to allow for lower daily attendance, and schools are encouraged to hold classes outdoors or in larger venues like cinemas, per The Local. Funding has been allocated to update schools and hire more teachers.
HE lessons learned from communicating in a corona crisis
Honest and timely communications proved critical for universities as they rapidly shuttered their campuses and moved not just classes, but virtually their entire ‘modus operandi’ online in response to the coronavirus crisis…EUPRIO members and supporters from 17 countries across Europe heard from Paolo Pomati, director of communications at Universita del Piemonte Orientale, Italy, that a priority was ensuring that higher education remained “inclusive”, broke down inequalities and kept students motivated as classes were moved online.
Austrade regional market update on the impact of COVID-19 (as at 28 July 2020)
ITALY: According to a recent survey undertaken by the Italian research institute Censis in which three quarters of Italian universities participated, around 70 per cent completed the transition to distance learning within a week of the initial lockdown period, with the remainder transitioning within two weeks. While all universities believe they have insufficient resources, the survey highlighted the university system was nonetheless responsive and capable of activating its human and technical resources in order to ensure continuity. The survey also highlighted a fear amongst universities of a decrease in enrolments due to the effect of the pandemic on family income, in addition to limitations on international student mobility.