Hundreds infected Mayor drinks water from Lake Garda after virus outbreak
"Salute": the mayor of the municipality of Brenzone treated himself to a glass of water straight from Lake Garda. The message is clear: the norovirus epidemic is over.
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- Paolo Formaggioni, the mayor of the Lake Garda municipality of Brenzone, drank a glass of water straight from the lake.
- He wants to symbolically express that the norovirus epidemic on Italy's largest lake is now over.
- After hundreds of locals and tourists were infected with the highly contagious virus on Lake Garda, the Italian authorities have now given the all-clear.
A courageous, symbolic sip to sound the all-clear: Paolo Formaggioni, mayor of the Italian Lake Garda community of Brenzone, drank a glass of water directly from the lake after the norovirus outbreak in the popular vacation region to reassure potentially worried residents and tourists. He toasted the onlookers with "Salute", as can be seen in the Brenzone Visione Comune Facebook video.
The occasion for which Formaggioni raised his glass was a joyous one for the region: according to the Italian authorities, the norovirus epidemic is over, and with his sip, the mayor made it clear that the risk of further gastrointestinal illnesses has been averted. Several analyses have shown that the regional drinking water no longer contains any traces of the virus.
In any case, the local politician considered the excitement surrounding the outbreak of the gastrointestinal disease in the popular tourist destination to be exaggerated. He spoke to the Italian media of "exaggerated scaremongering", saying that nobody in his town of Brenzone had been infected. Tourists and tour operators had reacted with concern to the news from Italy's largest lake.
Ban lifted in Torri del Benaco
The all-clear has also been given on the eastern shore of Lake Garda: tap water can now also be consumed again in the municipality of Torri del Benaco. The mayor there, Stefano Nicotra, lifted a ban in response to hundreds of locals and tourists falling ill. The use of water bottles was banned and free bottles of water were distributed.
Infected people were struggling with symptoms such as vomiting and nausea, abdominal cramps, diarrhea and fever. Over 300 people even had to be treated in hospital. Norovirus symptoms usually appear suddenly and then subside after half a day to two days.
It is still unclear how the outbreak of the highly contagious norovirus came about. It is suspected that heavy rainfall may have washed the virus into the drinking water. Italian media speculate that the sewage system was overloaded, but there is no official confirmation.
