Rome, 24 April (LaPresse) – ’At the moment, there are 182 foreign delegations, half of which include heads of state or government.’ This was stated by Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi in an interview with the programme ‘Cinque minuti’ on Rai1. ‘We have estimated that, between direct security personnel and personnel ensuring traffic flow, at least 1,000 people will be dedicated to this task,’ added Piantedosi, explaining that ‘there are coordination systems in place with personnel from the countries concerned’. ‘The estimates are obviously approximate. But the most realistic estimate is around 200,000 people on the day of the funeral,’ Piantedosi said, adding that ’access to St. Peter's Square via Via della Conciliazione will use the mechanism that was already in place for the Jubilee celebrations, so there is a route through which access is granted, through scanners and alert systems, and there will also be checks from the skies by anti-drone systems; then there will be police patrols, which are very strong in the area concerned at the moment. To date, out of about 100,000 people who have visited the body of the Holy Father, we have only had 70 calls to the emergency number, which means that the presence on site is very effective as a point of reference for citizens.’
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