The Italian government will introduce a nationwide quarantine on Easter weekend from April 3 to 5, follows from the text of the decree adopted on Friday at a meeting of the country’s Council of Ministers, RIA Novosti reports.
During three holidays, according to the decree, the country will have the most stringent restrictions provided for by the rules of the “red” zone. In practice, this means a ban on movement unnecessarily, not only between individual cities and provinces, but also within settlements.
“Color” division of regions into categories depending on the degree of danger has been in effect in the country since November. Starting next Monday, all regions remaining in the “yellow” category will turn “orange”. “Red” and “orange” zones close museums and catering establishments, except for take-out or home delivery. In addition, retail trade is prohibited in red code regions, with the exception of grocery stores, pharmacies, tobacco shops and newsstands. Thus, the only region with minimal restrictions will be Sardinia, which has moved into the “white” zone since the beginning of March.
The experts of the scientific and technical committee under the government of the country spoke out for toughening existing measures this week. Experts are concerned about the spread of new strains of coronavirus, primarily the British one, which is responsible for more than half of the infections. In addition, the new rise in the epidemiological curve has led to an increase in the workload on intensive care units. It is estimated that in half of the country’s regions, over 30% of emergency rooms are occupied by patients with COVID-19.
Throughout Italy, the main measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 continue to be in force, namely a curfew from 22.00 to 5 a.m., a ban on crowds, observance of social distance and the mandatory wearing of medical masks.