Italy will enter a strict lockdown during Christmas and New Year

ITALY, one of the countries most affected by Covid-19, will be subjected to new restrictions during the Christmas and New Year periods, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced last night.

Under the new measures, shops, bars and restaurants will be closed and travel between regions will be banned and, in theory, only one daily trip abroad per household will be allowed.

Religious celebrations will be allowed until 10:00 p.m.

“Our experts fear that the infection curve will increase during the Christmas period,” Conte said.

The prime minister admitted that the authorities had neither the means nor the will to control compliance with the containment measures, but called on Italians to respect a new limit of people accommodating two adult guests at home.

However, food stores, hairdressing salons, pharmacies, tobacconists and laundries, as well as bookstores, will remain open.

Conte specified that the confinement would be relaxed on December 28, 29 and 30, as well as on January 4.

These days, the shops can stay open until 9:00 p.m. and people can move freely.

Italy has 60 million inhabitants and one of the oldest populations in Europe.