Italy was preparing to announce on Friday an easing of certain anti-Covid restrictions in several regions, despite warnings from health experts.
Read also: In Italy, restaurants defy the ban on opening
The Veneto (northeast), which includes Venice, was to lower its alert level from “
orange
” (medium risk) to “
yellow
” (moderate risk), which would pave the way for the reopening of bars and restaurants in day and facilitate travel.
A similar change was in the pipeline for Calabria (the tip of the Italian Boot) and Emilia Romagna (north), according to the daily La Repubblica.
This easing would be a hiatus with the general trend of other European countries, which on the contrary are implementing more severe restrictions.
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned Thursday that it was "
too early to ease
" restrictions due to "
still very high
"
circulation
of the virus.
"
Italy is against the tide,
”confirmed Walter Ricciardi, a public health expert who advises the Italian Ministry of Health on the pandemic.
"
Currently it is extremely difficult to propose more severe measures due to resistance from politicians and public opinion,
" he explains.
France, facing the same challenge, is considering a third confinement, and President Emmanuel Macron is expected to announce new measures this weekend or Monday.
Read also: Emmanuel Macron hesitates between three nuances of reconfinement
Italy, the first European country hard hit by the first wave of the coronavirus, has recorded more than 87,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic, and the third largest economy in the euro area has plunged into its worst recession since World War II.
Italian leaders are currently monopolized by the political crisis caused by the resignation on Tuesday of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, who handles current affairs while waiting for the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella to announce his decision on the next step: to rename Giuseppe Conte, to appoint a new head of government or call for early elections.
"
We are at war (...) and if we had to make a comparison with the Second War, we would not be in 1945, but in 1941
", estimated Walter Ricciardi, for whom victory is still far away.
"
If we do not have a government with full powers (...) it is clear that the situation is likely to become even more serious,
" he adds.
