The coronavirus has significantly weakened and could even disappear on its own, according to a top Italian doctor.
Dr. Matteo Bassetti, the head of the infectious diseases clinic at the San Martino hospital, said in an interview Sunday that COVID-19 patients who would have died two or three months ago are now recovering.
“The clinical impression I have is that the virus is changing in severity,” Bassetti told the Telegraph UK.
“In March and early April the patterns were completely different. People were coming to the emergency department with a very difficult to manage illness and they needed oxygen and ventilation, some developed pneumonia,” he explained. “Now, in the past four weeks, the picture has completely changed in terms of patterns.”
Bassetti attributed the strength differences to potential genetic mutations, which are common for viruses. He explained that increased scientific understanding about the virus has also aided efforts to mitigate its impact.
“It was like an aggressive tiger in March and April but now it’s like a wild cat,” Bassetti said. “Even elderly patients, aged 80 or 90, are now sitting up in bed and they are breathing without help. The same patients would have died in two or three days before.” – READ MORE
