United News of India
Rome, Apr 27: Italy has planned to ease the strict lockdown restrictions from May 4 imposed weeks ago as a measure to curb the spread of coronavirus pandemic.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Sunday said that people will be allowed to visit relatives within their region of residence, while any other movements will still only be allowed for work or health reasons.
Italy will reopen access to public parks and allow outdoor sports from May 4 in a partial lockdown lift as the nation recovers from its coronavirus epidemic, Conte said in a televised address.
Manufacturing and construction sectors will also be able to restart the work after May 4, while retail trade will resume from May 18.
“From May 4 it will be possible to do physical activities not only next to the home but also further away, but a distance of at least 2 meters must be observed in dynamic sport activities,” he added.
The ban on assembling will remain in place both for public and private places, the prime minister said, stressing that for usual physical activities the rule of social distancing would be at least one meter.
The coronavirus pandemic has claimed 26,644 lives in Italy, bringing the total number of infections, fatalities and recoveries to 197,675 as of Sunday, according to latest data released by the country’s Civil Protection Department.
A total of 260 people have lost their lives in the last 24 hours, the lowest one-day death toll since March 15.
