Italian govt set to impose new curbs to tackle COVID-19 resurgence

Rome, October 4

The Italian authorities will doubtless impose new restrictions on the nation within the coming week to attempt to beat again rising numbers of coronavirus instances, Health Minister Roberto Speranza stated on Sunday.

The cupboard is because of meet on Tuesday to resolve how to answer a rise in infections, with southern Italian areas for the primary time wanting weak to the illness.

“The battle isn’t over. We don’t have the numbers seen in other European countries … but we are in a phase of significant growth and I hope the country finds a spirit of unity,” Speranza instructed state broadcaster RAI.

The measures below evaluation embrace making the sporting of masks compulsory outside throughout the entire nation and re-introducing curbs on social gatherings.

“Masks are fundamental. The more we can get them used by Italians the better it will be,” stated Speranza. Mask-wearing is at present obligatory in simply 5 of Italy’s 20 areas, primarily within the south.

Italy registered 2,844 new instances on Saturday, the very best quantity for the reason that finish of April, when the nation was below a nationwide lockdown. Officials are alarmed by flare-ups within the south, with the area of Campania, centred on Naples, seeing greater than 400 new infections a day for the primary time.

To assist preserve management and guarantee social distancing guidelines are revered, the inside ministry stated on Saturday that troopers may be deployed alongside police in some hotspots.

However, Speranza stated a very powerful factor was for folks to take direct accountability for his or her actions.

“We can’t have the police checking every single person,” he stated, including that the federal government was working “night and day” to keep away from a return to a full lockdown.

“A generalised lockdown would have a cultural, economic and social cost the country cannot afford,” he stated.

Italy was the primary nation in Europe to be slammed by COVID-19 and has the sixth highest dying toll on this planet, with virtually 36,000 folks dying for the reason that outbreak flared in February. As of Saturday, it had registered 322,751 instances. — Reuters