Italy completes the last weekend of confinement due to the coronavirus pandemic
Italians celebrate, this Sunday (3), the last day of absolute confinement in the country. Starting this Monday, Phase 2 begins, with the gradual opening of commercial and industrial activities, which will allow around 4,5 million people to return to work.
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“The most difficult challenge begins. A game begins that we don’t know how long it will last or how it will end. We must not forget the sacrifices made in the first half and we must understand that the final result depends on our behavior,” said Italy’s Extraordinary Emergency Commissioner, Domenico Arcuri, this Saturday.
During the press conference at the headquarters of the Italian Civil Protection, Arcuri recognized the danger that continues to be present in the form of the virus and once again appealed to all Italians for caution so that “maintain a reasonable balance between relative freedom and health”.
Since the first infected person was discovered in northern Italy, almost 210 cases and more than 28 deaths have been recorded.
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However, in recent weeks the favorable evolution of the contagion curve as well as the reduction in pressure on hospitals, with fewer patients admitted, led Giuseppe Conte's government to decree the beginning of the relaxation of the quarantine.
Thus, from May 4th, commercial activities in industries and the civil construction sector will be able to resume, thus opening the circulation of 4,5 million people hitherto confined.
These will join employees of essential services, which never closed, such as food and pharmacies, for example.
A little leisure
Municipal parks are reopening, visits to family members who live nearby are authorized, but social gatherings remain prohibited.
From May 18th, libraries, museums and small shops will be able to reopen, with bars, restaurants, hairdressing salons and beauty centers opening to the public from June 01st.
Cinema and theater halls still have no date for reopening. Schools only reopen in September, when a new academic year begins.
Government will distribute 160 million masks
The use of masks continues to be mandatory in this second phase of the fight against the pandemic. Arcuri announced the distribution of 160 million units in all regions of Italy.
“From Monday onwards, anyone who wants to buy the masks will find them in 50 points of sale at a price of 50 cents”, guaranteed Arcuri, who admitted doubling the supply of points of sale during the current month.
According to him, the country has a stock of 47 million masks, and in May 12 million will be distributed per day, in June it will rise to 18 million, in July to 25 million and in August to 35 million.
The arrival, for this Monday, of serological tests was also announced for many of the laboratories selected by the Ministry of Health to begin the study of the sample for the presence of antibodies in the first 150 thousand Italians.
Airports open again
Some of the airports closed two months ago due to the drastic reduction in air traffic will reopen this Monday.
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According to one statement from the Ministry of Transport Italian airports Ciampino, the second largest in Rome after Fiumicino, and Peretola, the second largest in Tuscany after Pisa, will reopen for commercial flights from May 4th.
The ministry also reported the addition of new long-distance rail connections, which will complement the offer, in order to guarantee minimum essential services.
The reopening schedule received criticism, mainly from governments in the southern regions, less affected by the pandemic, who demanded a quick return to normality.
In fact, from May 4th, the resumption of production activities focuses on the hardest hit areas, in the Italian industrial north.
There will be 2,8 million workers from the North (Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont, Veneto and Marche) returning to work; 812 thousand from the center; and 822 thousand from the southern region.
Hairdressers and catering professionals must wait until June 01st to reopen their businesses.
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