Italy will go into a nationwide lockdown during the Christmas and new year period as the government tries to impede a rise in coronavirus infections that could be triggered by the festivities.
The Italian prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, said it had not been an easy decision but the measures were necessary.
The whole country will be under “red-zone” lockdown on between Christmas Eve, and 27 December and then again between 31 December and 3 January and 5-6 January, when Italy celebrates the feast of the epiphany.
On those days non-essential shops will close, along with bars and restaurants, unless they provide home delivery services.
People must stay home unless they need to leave for emergency reasons, although in a significant exception, a maximum of two people (not counting children under 14) can leave their homes to visit another person’s home.
On 28, 29 and 30 December, and 4 January Italy will be in “orange zone” lockdown, meaning people can leave their homes but must stay within their towns and all shops can reopen apart from bars and restaurants.
“The situation is still difficult, it’s difficult across the whole of Europe,” Conte said, during a press conference on Friday night.
“The virus continues to circulate everywhere. We can bend it, but we cannot defeat it. This is why even among our experts there is a strong concern that the contagion curve could surge during the Christmas period.”
Conte said there would be a €645m (£585m) support package for bars and restaurants affected by the measures while more financial initiatives would be announced in the coming days.
Italy has recorded the highest death toll in Europe, reaching nearly 67,900 on Friday.
Conte said the launch of the vaccination programme on 27 December would mark the beginning of “the end of this nightmare”.
Other measures include a ban on inter-regional travel between 21 December and 6 January, while the national 10pm-5am curfew will remain in place.
Conte said the strengthened measures were necessary to “confront the upcoming holidays in a way to better protect ourselves, and also in view of the general resumption of activities that will come in January”.
