Italy: Covid-19 Pandemic Kills Poorest People The Most

The Italian National Statistics Bureau (ISTAT) revealed Friday, via a report, that the poorest of the country have more probabilities of dying of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the richest.

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According to ISTAT, disadvantaged socio-economic conditions expose people to a higher likelihood of living in small or overcrowded housing, limiting the possibility of social distancing.

Low-income groups were more likely to work during the lockdown, which forced them to break some isolation measures.

The organization's report confirms that in March 2020 and particularly in affluent areas, the spread of the epidemic has revealed more significant increases in mortality rates in the most disadvantaged sections of the population. These sectors were already experiencing, even before the pandemic, the highest mortality levels.

In this sense, the analysis by age groups shows an increase in the mortality ratio in individuals with a low level of education compared to those of higher standards. 

In the age group 65-79 years, in areas with a high spread of the pandemic, there was a rise in the mortality of less literate people, both for men, from 1.28 to 1.58 and for women from 1.19 to 1.68, the study reveals.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also pushed thousands of Italians into poverty and health insecurity as a consequence.

On May Coldiretti, the most prominent farmers organization of Italy warned that 700,000 children under 15 years old were left without enough food.

At the same time, the Coldiretti estimated that another 1 million Italians would have to turn to food banks and other forms of assistance as a result of losing their jobs under COVID-19 lockdown. The country was already struggling with 9 percent of poverty before the pandemic devastated Italy.