A prosecutor in the province of Bolzano, in northern Italy, has opened an investigation after a man died and several others went to intensive care after it appears that they attended a special “COVID party” to contact the virus.
The 55-year-old died in Austria last week after becoming infected at a party in the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy, health officials said. At least three others, including a child, are now hospitalized in a provincial hospital after becoming infected at similar parties, according to the Daily Mail.
Health authorities believe that people are anti-vaccinators and want to become infected in order to obtain a “green certificate” needed by employees in Italy. The man who died in Austria is believed to have worked in Italy and therefore needed a green permit.
“I received several reports from doctors, but also from patients who admitted that they were intentionally infected. (They do this) to develop antibodies and get the green certificate, “Patrick Franzoni, the coordinator of the anti-Covid unit in Bolzano, told the Italian newspaper Il Dolomiti.
Some parents have taken their children to such parties to infect them with Covid-19, and so far it is known that a child was hospitalized.
This “fashion” is more prevalent in northern Italy, where people who do not want to be vaccinated are trying to get infected and get a Green Pass to work, enter bars and restaurants and travel by public transport. In Italy, proof of passing through the disease is sufficient to obtain the coveted six-month permit.
The parties take place mainly in the German-speaking region of South Tyrol, along the border with Austria, which has the highest number of infections and the lowest vaccination rate in all of Europe. At parties, the infected kiss and hug the unvaccinated to spread the virus, Franzoni said, adding that the infected person could be charged with knowingly spreading the virus during the state of emergency in Italy. cause of the pandemic.
According to the initial investigation, some of the parties take place in outdoor areas of the bars, which are accessible without a Green Pass. There, an infected person drinks from a glass or bottle of beer and transmits it to try to spread the virus. Other events take place in private homes.
In one case, the infected person was sick in bed and it is said that the guests gathered around the patient to try to breathe the virus. A partygoer who arrived at the hospital told Veneto Corriere that he regrets it, but is still not sure that he has COVID. “It was a serious mistake,” he told the newspaper, adding that he was sure he only had pneumonia and that doctors had told him it was COVID to make him change his mind. “It’s just propaganda,” he says, though he can barely breathe.
The man who died of COVID was an Austrian who regularly crossed the border to attend parties in Italy, Franzoni said.
More and more European countries are introducing “green permits”, which are necessary for work and leisure.
The only way to get them is to get a complete vaccination or proof that you have been through the disease in the last six months.
Dr Franzoni told the Italian newspaper Il Dolomiti that “there are long-term consequences and even young people can get to the hospital.”
Austria became the first European nation this week to reintroduce harsh restrictions in the wake of the fourth wave of the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Parties and across the ocean
And “Covid parties” are not just specific to Europe. Several people from Edson, Alberta, Canada, came to ATI after attending a “Covid party”.
The party wanted to get infected in order to obtain “natural immunity” against the SARS-CoV2 virus, but “several” of them arrived at the hospital, including ATI.
“I am demoralized and angry that people have intentionally spilled gas on fire, risking passing it on to others and reaching ATI at a time when we have literally only a few beds left for the entire province,” said Dr. Ilan. Schwartz, an infectious disease physician and assistant professor at the University of Alberta.
For reasons that should be obvious, it is not recommended to obtain SARS-CoV2 “immunity” through natural infection. These reasons include the risk of being hospitalized, dying from Covid-19, experiencing the chronic symptoms associated with “long Covid” and also passing the virus on to others.
None of these pose a risk to the immunity gained from vaccination with Covid-19 sera, which are widely available in Europe and America and are free.
