Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced on Friday that he has ordered the national closure for the Christmas and New Year holidays, as the country continues to see an increase in cases and deaths.
Why does it matter: Italy was one of the most affected western countries, with 67,894 coronavirus-related deaths since Friday – most in Europe.
Details: Conte said non-essential stores must close between December 24-27, December 31-January 3 and January 5-6, for Reuters.
- Travel on those days will only be allowed for work, health or emergency reasons. People will also be allowed to visit older family members living alone.
- Restaurants and bars must be closed during the holidays, except for food.
- Conte said police would not specifically check if the rules were followed inside the houses, but urged Italians to be responsible, Reuters reported.
- Conte said 645 million euros ($ 790 million) had been allocated to help restaurants and other businesses in the hospitality sector.
- Not worth anything: The country had already adopted a decree restricting traffic between regions from 21 December to 6 January.
What it says: “The situation is difficult across Europe. The virus continues to circulate, “Conte told Reuters.
- “Our experts were very worried that there would be a jump in Christmas cases. … Therefore, we had to act, but I can assure you that it was not an easy decision. “
The whole picture: Governments have struggled to find the best way to stop the expected increase in cases due to the holiday season.
- Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced Friday the country will come to a standstill after Christmas. All non-essential stores, which reopened last week, must close from December 26 to January. 18. Restaurants and museums must also be closed until 18 January, and schools will be required to continue distance learning until after 15 January.
- Mexico City and neighboring Mexico will ban non-essential activities from Saturday until at least Jan. 10, officials said Friday.