New Delhi (NVI): The Italian government has approved a ban on inter-regional travel during the Christmas period as the country registered the highest daily coronavirus death toll of the pandemic.
Under a new decree signed by the Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, on Thursday night, people will be barred from travelling beyond their regions between December 20 and January 6 except for work, health or emergency reasons.
On top of that, they will not be allowed to leave their towns on Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year’s Day.
The tough rules, which will run alongside a national curfew and other restrictions already in place, are intended to avert a third coronavirus wave “that could arrive as early as January”, Conte said during a press conference.
In addition to this, the government is expected to retain a colour-coded risk-based system that imposes varying levels of anti-coronavirus restrictions on different regions.
Italy recorded 993 Covid-19 deaths on Thursday, bringing the total since February to 58,038. This death toll eclipsed the 969 peak reached on March 27, when the country was in full lockdown.
Furthermore, there were 23,255 new confirmed infections in the last 24 hours, bringing the cumulative toll to more than 1.6 million infections.
-CHK
