We can't lower guard says Conte on strict Xmas rules

(ANSA) - ROME, DEC 4 - Premier Giuseppe Conte said Italy cannot afford to "lower the guard" after passing a decree with strict rules for Christmas with the aim of stopping the festive season fuelling a third wave of COVID-19 contagion.
    The package includes a ban on travelling between regions between December 21 and January 6 and a ban on moving outside one's home town on Christmas Day, St Stephen's Day and New Year's Day.
    "We have to avoid a third wave, which in January could be no less violent than the first and second waves," Conte told a press conference.
    "We are not having another nationwide lockdown. There should be no divisions. It's time to act united".
    There is tension, however, between Conte's executive and Italy's regional governments, which expressed "astonishment and bitterness" at the way the decree was approved and the alleged lack of dialogue with them.
    "The ban on travelling on Christmas Day and St Stephen's Day to get together with family is unacceptable," said Lombardy Governor Attilio Fontana.
    Liguria Governor Giovanni Toti said the "government measures don't make sense". (ANSA).