Covid spike prompts calls to postpone Rome concert

Italian medics have called for Måneskin to postpone their concert at Rome’s Circus Maximus this weekend amid a spike in Covid cases in the region.

The rock band are due to perform a sold-out 70,000-cap homecoming show at the outdoor venue on Saturday (9 July) as part of the Rock in Roma series.

Italy lifted its State of Emergency in March but its coronavirus regulations were only fully lifted at the start of last month. However, with the Lazio region reporting 176,000 “currently positive” tests – said to be fuelled by the Omicron-5 sub-variant – doctors are appealing for the event to be pushed back until past the end of the current peak, which is estimated between 10-15 July, reports Wanted in Rome via La Repubblica.

“I find the Måneskin concert, at this moment, madness”

“The problem is obviously not Måneskin but any large gathering during the current surge of the virus,” Alberto Chiriatti, deputy regional secretary of Italy’s federation of general practioners (FIMMG). “There is no football right now but if there were a derby we would say the same thing.”

According to Reuters, Italy reported 132,374 Covid-19 cases yesterday (5 June), with the figures exceeding 100,000 for the first time since February.

“I find the Måneskin concert, at this moment, madness” adds doctor Marcello Pili.Pili. “We risk 20,000 positive cases in one blow alone.”

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