how will Christmas 2020 be

A Dpcm “photocopy” that on December 3 extended the current restrictions for ten days in order to reduce the numbers of the epidemic. And then a window of ten to fifteen days that, around Christmas, “free” Christmas shopping – worth 5.1 billion according to Coldiretti – and then closes everything again before December 24, allowing parties only with relatives or close relatives. The Conte government’s Christmas plan that we talked about yesterday seems increasingly concrete while the analysis of the data from the Civil Protection Bulletin seems to register a first slowdown in the coronavirus epidemic.

A new Dpcm, ten days for gifts and purchase rules: how will Christmas 2020 be?

Therefore, the executive’s plan foresees that the Dpcm that expires on December 3 can be extended for some time before the arrival of a new ad hoc decree around Christmas. Among the hypotheses is to keep stores open for purchases even late at night to spread the income of customers, possibly a quota per age group to avoid meetings, a goal that could also be achieved by setting strict limits to accesses – while among the initiatives of the Regions is the acceleration of the times in the revision of the allocation of the zones, in particular for the promotion towards the less restrictive ones, and the relaxation of the measures in those provinces of the territories in the red zone that have comforting data. The plan, which Repubblica talks about today among others, should be more or less this:

• stay close to the current model of the red zones until December 3, the expiration date of the current Dpcm;
• as of December 4, with the new Dpcm, another week characterized by rigorous measures, to try to bring all the Regions below the Rt index of 1 in 10;
• at that point, with a “cooled” curve over the entire territory, it will be possible at least to allow the opening of stores;
• at that time, even bars and restaurants will be able to raise their shutters, and not just to go, but only until 6 in the afternoon;

For now, the possibility of moving to and from a region proclaimed red zone remains excluded from this plan, in the sense that it has not yet been discussed: to date the possibility seems excluded precisely because of the high risks of intra-family contagion during the holidays. Although, on the other hand, the Ansa news agency warns that among the hypotheses on the table – apart from the Dpcm bridge for the Christmas period that will suspend the automatism of the gangs, it will alleviate the national curfew, allow the night opening of bars and restaurants- c ‘is also the change also between the red and orange regions to reach the closest relatives, in addition to the extension of the hours of the stores, a new protocol for religious masses and ceremonies, the prohibitions for New Year’s Eve, including the stop at any meeting in the squares.

There is little chance that the 21 indicators will change while it is not ruled out that some regions will change color, as the Minister of Regional Affairs, Francesco Boccia announced yesterday: “Until December 3, the change of parameters is not in discussion – said Boccia -. There is a Dpcm in force until that date and the comparison will serve to make decisions for the next Dpcm. And I don’t exclude other red regions ”. Words confirmed, during the State-Regions videoconference, also by the president of Lombardia Fontana: “The government will maintain the situation until December 3.” And in the light of the Dpcm there will be a “political coordination” between the government and the Regions.

“I’ll explain how to get around the Dpcm bans.” But…

Giuseppe Conte and the rules of Christmas

Yesterday it was Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte himself who announced that the situation is improving but also that at Christmas and New Year there will be no dinners or parties. “Veglioni, dinners, kisses and hugs for this end of 2020 will have to be postponed because,” as the prime minister explained, “beyond scientific evaluations, common sense is needed.” “A week of unleashed sociability, as is the one that usually accompanies us during the Christmas holidays, would mean paying a sharp rise in the curve in January in terms of deaths, the stress of intensive care and the medical area. We cannot afford it , it would be crazy. ”

From the prime minister to the ministers to the scientists, everyone repeats that it will not be a Christmas like any other and that, although with some inevitable concessions, it will certainly not be a free all. “The classic dinner, with 20 people, this year we cannot afford it”, confirms Agostino Miozzo, coordinator of the Scientific Technical Committee, which launches another alarm, however: the assault on shops and department stores for Christmas shopping. However, there will be some opening, as confirmed by the premier himself, to allow families to stay together and above all to avoid further burying all trade and tourism. The line to follow will be decided in the coming days, also trusting that the measures taken from October 24 will stop the spread of the virus. The impression instead, it says what the changes are at the government table for the next Dpcm:

• the curfew will go from 22-23 to 24;
• restaurants and bars open until 8 pm;
• prohibition to make tables with more than 4-6 people;
• parties in the square on New Year’s Eve are prohibited;
• the shopping centers will be open on weekends with free admission: perhaps the first two hours of opening are dedicated to those over 65.

Finally, the Corriere della Sera writes that the first date to be marked on the calendar is November 27: that day Piedmont, Lombardy and the other regions that entered the red zone first could change to orange, while in the week immediately following those of the Orange zone could deserve the yellow. Precisely the realization of this possibility, which today in theory the figures already allow, would allow loosening the restrictive measures now in force: which is the opening of stores from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., shopping centers on weekends, restaurants at night in all areas of Italy except those that are still red. According to the newspaper, as of December 3, the shopping centers would also reopen on Saturdays, Sundays and other holidays, the curfew could be extended until 11 p.m. or 12 p.m. but the ban on parties and dinners will be maintained as well as the closure of gyms. contact sports and ski resorts. And on this last point, the northern regions are already on the warpath.