World

Italy considering tougher COVID measures

People sing, wave and clap their hands next to an Italian flag, during a flash mob "Una canzone per l'Italia" (A song for Italy) at the Magliana district in Rome on March 15, 2020. - Italy reacts with the solidarity of flash mobs circulating on social media to make people "gather" on balconies at certain hours, to play music or to get a round of applause. Italy on Sunday recorded 368 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, its highest one-day increase to date, taking the total to 1,809, the most outside China, official data showed. The number of infections has reached 24,747, a count released to the media by Italy's civil protection service said. The northern Lombardy region around Milan remained the European epicentre of the pandemic, officially reporting 1,218 deaths, or 67 percent of the Italian total. (Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP)

Italian authorities are contemplating adding severer coronavirus measures ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays, local media reported on Monday.

According to the reports, the tougher lockdown could be preceded from December 24 and last at least until January 2. The new measures would involve banning all non-essential movement and closing non-essential shops and restaurants on weekends and holidays. “Business and health are not reconcilable at the moment,” Regional Affairs Minister Francesco Boccia told la Repubblica and added that crowds are “unjustifiable, irrational, irresponsible.