Italy starts spending Easter in lockdown

Italy is spending Easter in lockdown as the whole nation became a COVID-19 ‘red zone’ from Saturday to Easter Monday in order to prevent social interaction fuelling contagion.

With this measure, shops selling non-essential items will remain closed, bars and restaurants are only allowed to do takeaways and home deliveries and people need a good reason to be outside the home.

It will be possible, however, for up to two adults and their children under 14 to visit the home of another person, with no more than one visit a day, and to attend religious services.

The interior ministry on Thursday asked Italy’s regional leaders to intensify checks in relation to COVID-19 restrictions over Easter.

Police have been told to focus checks on people who are travelling and to pay special attention areas likely to attract groups of people, such as parks and beaches.

Meanwhile the country’s COVID-19 Rt reproduction number has dropped to 0.98, below the alarm level of 1 and down from 1.08 last week, according to a draft of the weekly coronavirus monitoring report of the health ministry and the Higher Heath Institute (ISS). The incidence has fallen to 232 cases for every 100,000 inhabitants, down from 240 last week. The ISS said that the proportion of intensive care places in Italy taken up by COVID-19 patients has risen to 41%, up from 39% last week and well above the critical threshold of 30%.

ITALY – ANSA