Italy Considers Extending State Of Emergency Until The End Of The Year

The Italian Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, announced today that he is considering extending the state of emergency for the coronavirus until the end of the year, instead of on July 31 as previously stated.

The prime minister confirmed reports that the government, following the advice of the Scientific and Technical Committee and the Health Ministry, had decided to contemplate extending the state of emergency, telling journalists that the conditions for the extension were “reasonable”

The state of emergency in Italy was first declared on January 31 after the first positive cases of coronavirus were detected. The country is in the midst of de-escalating restrictions, but the government is proceeding with caution after a number of outbreaks emerged.

On Thursday, the Health Minister Roberto Speranza signed an ordinance to ban people from thirteen “risk countries”, including five Latin American countries: Chile, Peru, Brazil, Panama, and the Dominican Republic. In addition, Armenia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bosnia Herzegovina, Kuwait, Northern Macedonia, Moldova, and Oman also made the list.