Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte confirmed on Wednesday evening that the containment measures imposed on the Italians would last until at least April 13, Easter Monday.
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“We are not yet in the conditions which allow us to lift the measures. I have just signed a decree which extends the current regime (restrictions, note) until April 13, "he said in a television address. Health Minister Roberto Speranza announced Monday the extension of these measures, imposed for three weeks.
The Italians were confined to their homes until April 3 in principle. Only outings were authorized for compelling reasons, work or health. At the same time, all non-essential industrial activities have been brought to a halt, only operating the agro-food, pharmaceutical or energy production sectors without which a country cannot function.
Cohabitation with the virus
The new decree introduces some new restrictive measures, such as the ban on collective training for top athletes. "If we were to lift these measures too quickly, all the sacrifices made so far would be in vain," said Conte.
He invited the Italians to respect the instructions, saying he was sorry to spoil the Easter holidays. He assured that the next phase, the beginning of de-containment, will only start when the experts consider it feasible, "but I can't tell you it will be April 14".
"Phase 2 will be that of cohabitation with the virus" with a progressive lifting of the restrictions, he said, without specifying which ones, while "phase 3 will be of exit from the crisis and resumption of normal life" .
The start and end of these different phases will be decided in coordination with the Scientific and Technical Committee which has been assisting the government since the start of the crisis.
Italy, the country most affected by the coronavirus in the world, has so far recorded 13,155 deaths for 110,574 cases. 727 deaths and 4,782 new cases were announced there on Wednesday.