Lockdown in Italy ‘will probably continue’ beyond May 1, civil protection chief says

Italy’s national lockdown imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus will probably continue beyond the start of May, Angelo Borrelli, the head of the Civil Protection Agency, said on Friday.

The government extended the lockdown this week. Severe restrictions were imposed on movement and all services and firms not deemed essential to Italy’s supply chain were shuttered until April 13.

Answering a question about whether the measures would need to remain in place many more weeks, Borrelli said in a radio interview with state broadcaster RAI: “Unfortunately they will.”

“I don’t believe this situation… will have passed by May 1, we have to be extremely rigorous,” the official said. Up to Thursday, Italy had officially registered 13,915 deaths from the virus, Reuters said.