'No proof' deaths avoidable with wider red zone at Bergamo

(ANSA) - ROME, JUN 7 - There is no proof that COVID-19 deaths could have been averted if a red zone at Bergamo had been extended to two outlying areas at the start of the pandemic in Italy, ministerial judges said in dropping manslaughter charges against former premier Giuseppe Conte and former health minister Roberto Speranza Wednesday.
    Shelving the case against the two ex officials, the Court of Minister said: "First of all, it must be said that the documents completely lack evidence that the 57 people indicated in the indictment, who were alleged to have died due to the failure to extend the red zone to the municipalities of Alzano Lombardo and Nembro, in the Bergamo area, are among the 4,148 excess deaths that would not have occurred if the (wider) red zone had been activated".
    Conte and Speranza were investigated by the Bergamo Public Prosecutor's Office for culpable epidemic and multiple culpable homicide for the management of the Covid-19 emergency in the Val Seriana area in early 2020. (ANSA).