Italy’s parliament on Wednesday gave the go-ahead to extend the country’s state of emergency until October 15, allowing the government more flexibility to fight the lingering coronavirus pandemic.
The state of emergency serves primarily to cut red tape and accelerate decision-making for the government when faced with disasters such as earthquakes, floods and other catastrophes.
Italy was the first European country to be hit by the coronavirus crisis and a more than two-month lockdown dealt a severe blow the economy.
The decree had been set to expire on July 31.
Italy’s Senate on Tuesday night gave its approval to extend the state of emergency, followed by the chamber of deputies on Wednesday, which voted 286 to 221 for the measure, with five abstentions.
“Unfortunately, the pandemic today is not fully over, even though its effects are more contained and geographically limited,” Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said Wednesday, assuring MPs that the extension did not necessarily mean new lockdowns.
More than 35,000 people have died due to coronavirus in Italy, which has seen more than 246,000 infections.
Agence France-Presse
ROME - Italy added new restrictions on Wednesday to a lockdown imposed to fight the coronavirus, ordering bars, restaurants and beauty parlors to close after the highest daily increase in deaths of any country since the outbreak began.
In a televised address to the nation, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said all shops would be shuttered except supermarkets, food stores and chemists, and companies must close all non-essential departments.
"We will only be able to see the effects of this great effort in a couple of weeks," he said, referring to the daily bulletins announcing the number of new cases and fatalities.
On Wednesday the death toll in Europe's worst affected country jumped by 196 in 24 hours to 827. Confirmed cases across Italy rose to 12,462 from a previous 10,149.
Company canteens can remain open if they are able to guarantee a distance of at least 1 meter (3 feet) between customers.
The latest measures will take effect from Thursday and run until March 25, the prime minister's office said.
"The country needs responsibility from all of us, the responsibility of 60 million Italians that are making small and large sacrifices every day," Conte said.
His brief, sombre address echoed the words he used just two days ago when he widened a lockdown in the worst-hit northern regions to the whole of the country, banning all non-essential travel and public gatherings until April 3, halting sports events and extending a shutdown of schools.
Under the latest measures, trains and urban public transport will remain open, as will services considered essential such as plumbers, mechanics and petrol stations.
Such measures are taking a heavy toll on Italy's economy, and Conte announced earlier that he would ramp up spending to soften the economic blow from the virus, allocating 25 billion euros ($28.3 billion) to support firms and families.
Only a week ago, he estimated it would need just 7.5 billion euros.
Economy Minister Roberto Gualtieri warned there may be a "significant contraction" in gross domestic product this year.
The extra spending announced on Wednesday means Italy's 2020 budget deficit looks certain to climb above 3% of national output, a ceiling set by EU rules.
An emergency decree to be approved this week will hike the deficit target initially to 2.7% from the current 2.2% goal, Gualtieri said in a letter to the European Commission.
Elderly people are particularly susceptible to the virus and Italy has the oldest population in Europe, with 23% aged 65 or above. Experts say this might be the reason why the fatality rate here is 6.6% - significantly higher than elsewhere.
Most Italians appear to be respecting the most severe controls placed on a Western nation since World War Two, with traffic much quieter than usual in major cities, many shops and restaurants already closed and only a few flights operating.
Russia and Slovenia became the latest countries to curb travel from Italy, which is increasingly isolated from the outside world.
An opinion poll by the Ixe agency showed 89% of Italians backed their authorities' draconian measures, with 78% saying they would support even tougher steps, even though 76% thought the existing ones would have a "grave" impact on the economy.
Highlighting the human cost of the outbreak, the government said the head of the medical association in the northern city of Varese, 67-year-old Roberto Stella, had died of the virus.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
CASALPUSTERLENGO - Italy reported Monday its fifth death from the new coronavirus, as the number of people contracting the disease continued to mount and officials called for calm.
The death of an 88-year-old man was the fourth in the northern Lombardy region, where villages have been put under lockdown and security measures enforced in a bid to stem the spread of the disease.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has said that residents could face weeks in lockdown in an effort to sit out the virus.
Angelo Borrelli, head of the country's civil protection agency, said 219 people had now tested positive in Italy, which has the most confirmed cases in Europe.
Five people have died of the virus in the past 4 days, including 1 in the Veneto region.
An Alitalia flight from Rome was being held in Mauritius Monday, after 40 people from Lombady and Veneto were told they could not disembark unless they consented to being placed in quarantine.
Alitalia said it was arranging for their immediate repatriation instead, despite none of the passengers showing any symptoms.
Eleven towns -- 10 in Lombardy and 1 in neighboring Veneto -- are under lockdown, with some 50,000 residents prohibited from leaving.
Regional authorities have ordered gathering spots, such as bars, restaurants, cinemas and discos to close.
The spread of the virus has disrupted high profile events including Milan Fashion Week and the Venice Carnival, while Serie A football matches have been postponed. Operas have also had to be cancelled at Milan's famed La Scala.
Masses in churches across the affected regions have been cancelled and funerals limited to immediate relatives only.
The stock market in Milan was down nearly 5 percent on Monday in a broad-based sell-off over virus fears.
'OUTBREAK IN HOSPITAL'
Most of the cases in Italy are in Lombardy, a prosperous region in the country's north where Milan is located.
They can be traced back to a 38-year-old man in the town of Codogno whom authorities have called "patient one."
Investigators are reconstructing minute by minute the man's movements over the past few weeks -- where he slept, ate, walked -- in a bid to trace everyone he could have come into contact with.
"We had the most unfortunate situation possible; the outbreak of an epidemic in a hospital," infectious disease expert Massimo Galli told the Corriere della Sera daily.
"Unfortunately, in these cases, a hospital can turn into a frightening amplifier of contagion," he said.
The 38-year old patient had not traveled to China and doctors failed to treat him with the necessary precautions.
The man initially believed to have given him the virus after returning from Shanghai later tested negative.
"We still do not know who brought the coronavirus to Codogno," Galli said.
'EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO TRACK'
Simon Clarke, Cellular Microbiology associate professor at Reading University in England, said: "It seems that the virus can pass from person to person without symptoms, making it extremely difficult to track, regardless of what health authorities do."
"While it remains the case that most people who become infected will have light symptoms or none at all, such uncontrollable spread would present a serious risk to vulnerable individuals."
Fontana urged residents to stay calm and stop panic buying.
"Rushing to stock up on food doesn't make any sense. There are enough supplies."
Milan mayor Beppe Sala echoed his plea, saying: "Rather than dashing to the supermarkets to grab food, perhaps we should spend time looking after the most vulnerable, such as old people, who are particularly at risk."
Schools have been closed as a precaution in Lombardy, Veneto, Piedmont, Emilia Romagna and Friuli Venezia Giulia.
Piedmont shares a border with France, while the other regions neighbor Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia.
France has said there is no need to close borders in response to the spread of virus in Italy.
Hungarian authorities issued a warning to citizens travelling to northern Italy, asking them to postpone their trip if possible, while incoming passengers will be screened at Budapest and Debrecen airports for fever symptoms.
Croatia meanwhile suspended all school strips to Italy for a month and advised against travel to Lombardy and Veneto, Italian media reported.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
