The new COVID-19 travel restrictions in Italy aimed at limiting far-flung families from gathering over Christmas. To avoid the violation of the new health protocol, police in Italy enforced people to obey the rules, The Local Italy reports.
Italian public health officials urged Thursday people to use common sense and face masks to prevent new infection’s spread over the holidays. This year, the small family circle is an optimal variant for celebrating. Christmas Eve meals are traditionally a multi-course, multi-generational affair that is a staple of Italian family life over the holidays.
This week, Guiseppe Conte’s office has approved the modified nationwide lockdown. The new measures took effect on Christmas Eve requires restrictions and closures similar to the 10 weeks of the first spring lockdown. That time, Cabinet imposed total shutdown from March to May, when Italy became the epicentre of the novel pathogen in Europe.
The country’s fall wave of outbreaks has killed more people than the spring wave, according to official counts, and the aim of the new slowdown Dec. 24-Jan. 6 is to limit a January resurgence.
Italians lined up at bakeries, fish markets and grocery stores for items needed to prepare Christmas Eve dinners, even as government officials begged families to limit their cenone gatherings to no more than two people outside the main family unit.
Italy’s authorities barred residents starting Monday from travelling from region to region. Police were out in force on Thursday to check that Italians on the road were obeying rules limiting travel within their own regions.
Nationally, Italian hospitals remain within the government-established benchmark of having no more than 30% of ICU beds and 40% of non-ICU beds dedicated to virus patient.
