Milan and Turin city center were overwhelmed by crowds of shoppers after restrictions in the Lombardy and Piedmont provinces were relaxed and stores opened on Sunday.

Masked shoppers filled the shopping streets, many walked in the square in front of the Milan Cathedral, waiting in line in front of the shops, waiting for the shops to enter one by one.

In the provinces of Lombardy, Piedmont and Calabria, they relaxed from the strict restrictions introduced in early November: they went from a high risk red zone to a medium danger orange classification. The stores closed so far have been opened and the hospitality industry remains closed. 12,000 stores reopened in the city of Milan. The construction of a pine tree began in the Duomo square.

In Lombardy, known as the focal point, with a population of ten million, just over three thousand new infections were detected on Sunday after almost ten thousand in early November.

In one day, 20,648 new patients were confirmed nationwide after more than 26,000 on Saturday, but with nearly 50,000 fewer tests. The number of hospital admissions has dropped by almost eight hundred, approaching 33,000. The number of patients in the intensive care unit has also been declining for days, currently 3753. The number of active infections is just over 759,000. The proportion of tests performed and patients examined is 11.6 percent, up from nearly 20 percent measured in early November.

The daily number of deaths is also falling: 541 patients died after the previous 686. The death toll has reached 54,904, meaning the number of patients who have died since February is expected to exceed 55,000 on Monday.

The government will announce new epidemic measures as of December 4 in the coming days. According to preliminary information, the relaxation of territorial restrictions is expected until Christmas, but during the holidays a greater tightening is not ruled out to avoid intensive movements between provinces and large family concentrations. The Autonomous Region of Alto Adige (South Tyrol), which remains a red zone, has announced that it will open the ski slopes from mid-December: visitors from other places can only enter with a virus test.

Health Minister Roberto Speranza is scheduled to outline a national vaccine distribution plan in parliament on December 3. The Ministry foresees the installation of a vaccination center for every 30,000 inhabitants in the vaccination posts installed in gyms, barracks and other places, or in camp hospitals, whose operation will also be assisted by the Armed Forces.

Health officials believe vaccination could begin in late January. It will not be mandatory, but herd immunity requires that at least sixty percent of the population be vaccinated. Therefore, a campaign is being launched to promote vaccination. According to previous data, 1.7 million doses of vaccine could reach Italy as a first step. Health workers, law enforcement officials, and those over 70 alone need to count more than ten million doses of vaccine.



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