Premier Giuseppe Conte on Friday
announced that his government was extending the stringent
lockdown measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus until
May 3.
He said that relaxing the measures now would amount to
undoing the results of the sacrifices made so far.
Italy has been in a lockdown, which has seen the closure of
all but essential businesses and activities and people obliged
to stay at home as much as possible, for a month.
The measures have significantly slowed the spread of
COVID-19.
But there were still close to 4,000 new recorded cases of the
virus reported on Friday.
The coronavirus has claimed 18,849 lives so far in Italy.
The premier said there would be some minor changes to the
lockdown, including the opening of stationary and book shops and
stores selling clothes for children as of Tuesday.
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