Key provisions of the decree are:
People are allowed to move within their regions freely, maintaining social distancing rule of at least one metre. Face masks and other protective gear will still be the norm at all workplaces and on all public transport. Ticket checks on trains and buses would no longer be carried out. Commuters are expected to obtain their tickets before boarding public transports. There will also be one-way walking rules at stations. Permit must be obtained for trips outside your region.
People will be allowed to visit relatives from May 4 wearing face masks but large family gatherings are not permitted. Athletes will be able to resume training for individual sports from May 4 but team-sport training will not recommence until May 18. Shops will reopen on May 18, along with museums and libraries. During the lockdown only shops selling food and other essential goods had been allowed to stay open. Bars, restaurants, barbers and beauty parlours will have to wait until June 1 to open, although food outlets will be able to provide takeaway services from May 4.
Premier Conte said Italy’s schools will not reopen before September. It will be possible to hold funerals, but churches in Italy have not gotten the green light to hold services. This has led to protests from the Italian Bishops Conference that the right to practice religion was being infringed upon but the government responded that it was studying the situation for such services to hold.
Meanwhile, Rome has started installing social distance markers at bus and metro stops and aboard vehicles ahead of the reopening of the country. The markers will all be in place in time for May 4 easing of lockdown rules. Seats that will be off limits because of social distancing norms are being marked as well.
