Most of Italy is set to suffer under the highest level of coronavirus lockdowns through the upcoming Easter holidays - normally a high point of the Italian religious and social year - the government said on Friday.
Friday's decision means the whole country will be considered a coronavirus red zone from Good Friday on April 3 to Easter Sunday on April 5. Bars and restaurants will be limited to takeaway service and people will not be able to travel outside of their home regions.
Furthermore, private visits are limited to one a day and then only with two people allowed to visit any other household, said Prime Minister Mario Draghi. It will be a sharp change from a holiday that usually sees people at church, visiting relatives or taking trips.
But the restrictions will already go into place for more than half the country starting on Monday, the government said.
Regions that will get red zone status include Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy and Piedmont, as well as Rome. Campania and Basilicata already are under red zone status.
That means weeks of school closures, with residents encouraged to only leave the house when absolutely necessary.
Draghi said that he was aware the measures would "have an impact on children's education, on the economy and on the mental state of all" Italians, but they are necessary to stop the situation from worsening.
He said the 32 billion euros (38 billion dollars) already promised was not enough and that he wanted to open up more economic aid.
Draghi was also confident that the vaccine campaign would speed up and that the goal was to expand the places where people could get a jab from hospitals to gyms, car parks and businesses.
Italy was one of the first countries to feel the full force of the coronavirus and is still struggling with it. On Friday, authorities reported almost 27,000 new infections and 380 deaths in the past 24 hours.
Health officials say they are concerned about the spread of the British and Brazilian variants of the coronavirus in Italy, because they are believed to be more deadly and more transmissible.
The government hopes the tough measures can help keep a new wave of infections under control. That means many activities are at risk of staying banned. For example, cinemas and theatres are set to reopen on March 27, but that schedule may be thrown off depending on Monday's announcement.
Source: DPA
