Italy to decide ‘in the coming days’ if restrictions to be loosened

ROME — Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte is promising a clear indication “in the coming days” of loosened restrictions in the so-called Phase II of the country’s response to the virus outbreak.

It is expected to allow more freedom of movement and an easing of the industrial shutdown.

Conte met with regional governors this weekend and tells the right-wing conservative daily il Giornale in an interview published today that “we are working on some proposals to loosen the measures in a way that we can ‘live with’ the virus in the coming months in conditions of maximum security.”

Italy’s lockdown runs through May 3. Regional governors in the hardest-hit north, which is also the nation’s economic engine, have been pushing to reopen more non-essential industry, which has been on shutdown since March 26.

Schools are expected to remain closed until September, while there is no indication yet of how Italy might be able to relaunch tourism, even domestically.

Conte says it is important to keep the curve of infection down and continue to ease pressure on hospitals and intensive care units.

Italy was the first Western country to be struck by the virus and has registered the most deaths in Europe, at 23,227.

— AP