Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte has announced there will be a partial lockdown nationwide for most of the Christmas vacation season, citing issues that gatherings of households and mates could re-ignite the virus’s spread.
The new decree puts strict limits on movements on holidays and weekends from December 21 via the January 6 Epiphany vacation, with a slight easing on 4 weekdays.
To enable a glimmer of Christmas cheer, private visits to mates or family members members of no more than two men and women are permitted on any offered day.
Conte known as the limits “a painful decision.” The move comes as Lombardy, Veneto and Lazio registered a price of transmission of more than 1, which means the virus is once more spreading in 3 crucial regions right after weeks of reduce in the contagion curve. The national price is .86, which means on typical the curve is flattening.
“The virus continues to circulate everywhere. We can bend it, but we cannot defeat it,” Conte said. “This is why even amongst our authorities there is a powerful concern that the contagion curve could surge through the Christmas period.” Italy was the first western country hit by the pandemic, and also has recorded the highest death toll in Europe, reaching nearly 67,900 on Friday.
Conte said the launch of the vaccination program December 27 will mark the beginning of “the finish of this nightmare.” The new restrictions will mean no Christmas lunches in restaurants, as had been foreseen in a previous decree, although take-out and deliveries are allowed. To soften the blow to a sector already devastated, the decree includes 645 million euros in aid.
In anticipation of the ban on movement between regions, which already had been announced, many people moved up holiday travel to this weekend.
The new decree further limits movements to the towns and cities of residence, and during the partial lockdown period permits outings only for work, health reasons and necessities like grocery shopping or going to the pharmacy.
On four non-holiday weekdays, other stores will be open for business until 9 pm addition, a 10 pm-6 am curfew will remain in place throughout the duration.
Conte said the strengthened measures were necessary to “confront the upcoming holidays in a way to greater safeguard ourselves, and also in view of the basic resumption of activities that will come in January”.
Conte added that the whole of Italy will become a designated “red” or high-risk zone from December 24 to January 6.
The Italian government had, in early November, introduced a three-tier system and split the country into three zones — red for the highest risk, orange for medium risk, and yellow for low risk — according to the level of virus transmission and the situation of the public health system.
The “red zones” are subjected to restrictions equal to a partial lockdown.