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Italian Prime Minister Conte has announced a further tightening of the fight against the corona virus. Freedom of movement will be further restricted and the country is divided into three risk zones.
By Jörg Seisselberg, ARD Studio Rome
Italy is also reacting to the rise in corona infections with new restrictions, including freedom to travel and in schools. The situation in the country is “very worrying,” Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said in his speech in the Chamber of Deputies.
To curb the rise in infections, the head of government focuses primarily on specific measures in particularly affected regions. The country would be divided into three risk zones, Conte announced, the details would be given in an ordinance of the Ministry of Health. He named new exit restrictions as one of the planned measures.
More than half of the country is a high risk area
According to Conte, the situation is particularly critical in eleven out of a total of 21 autonomous regions and provinces of Italy. There is a “high or very high risk” that a corona infection will get out of control.
According to the Ministry of Health, these high-risk areas include the regions of Lombardy, Piedmont, the capital region of Lazio, Valle d’Aosta, Molise, Umbria, Calabria, Apulia, Emilia-Romagna, Liguria and the autonomous province of Bolzano. In eight other regions, according to Conte, there is a risk that the infection process will spiral out of control within a month.
Only the regions of Sardinia and Basilicata are currently well below the critical threshold (value of R 1.5) according to the values of the infection rate announced by the Ministry of Health. Italy’s national average is 1.7. This means that currently ten infected people infect another 17 people. In big cities like Milan or Turin, the value is even significantly higher.
No national blockade, but with many restrictions
Conte justified his no to a national blockade by saying that Italy’s economy could not cope with such a step. As the most important national measure, the head of government announced that freedom to travel in Italy should be restricted again. For regions that are particularly at risk, the following applies in the future: Anyone who wants to drive in or out of there in the future needs good reasons, for example wanting to go to work or a doctor.
The government also wants to restrict school lessons across the country in light of the growing number of infections. Across the country, face-to-face teaching will remain only for elementary schools; Online lessons are planned for all other students.
The cultural sector is also affected by the new restrictions: after the theaters, museums and exhibitions will now also close. Shopping centers must be closed on weekends, gambling halls and betting offices generally close their doors.
