A source said on Friday that the Minister of Health Roberto Speranza will sign a decree designating most areas of Italy as “orange areas”, based on Italy’s COVID-19 A hierarchical restriction system based on the risk of infection.
Lombardy is the region most severely hit by the first wave of coronavirus. Sicily and the autonomous region of Bolzano in the autonomous state are scheduled to be listed as red areas on Sunday. Speranza’s decision is based on the latest data from the Ministry of Health and the weekly monitoring report of the Advanced Institute of Health, and is based on a new government decree that modifies the parameters to determine the way areas are classified.
Under the hierarchical system, in the high-risk red zone, all restaurants and bars are closed, and all non-essential stores are closed except for take-out shops and home delivery. In the medium-high-risk orange zone, shops can conduct business, but restaurants and bars must remain closed. In the medium-risk yellow zone, shops are open until 6 pm, and bars and restaurants are also open. Nine regions (Abruzzo, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Liguria, Marche, Piedmont, Puglia, Umbria and Valle d’Aosta) are turning yellow to orange.
Three other countries, including Calabria, Emilia-Romagna and Veneto, will remain orange. The six autonomous regions of Campania, Sardinia, Basilicata, Tuscany, Molise and Trentino are still yellow. The new law stipulates a curfew across the country from 10 pm to 5 am.
