Italy

MILAN (Reuters) - Italy, the first European country to be hard-hit by the coronavirus, will allow some businesses to reopen as soon as this week while aiming to reopen manufacturing and construction from May 4, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said.

Conte gave the most detailed outline yet of plans to reopen the economy, in a newspaper interview published on Sunday ahead of the government’s roadmap out of lockdown, which he said would be released no later than early this week.

MILAN (Reuters) - Italy must be “pragmatic” in talks with the EU over aid tools, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Saturday, denying that an earlier comment in a newspaper interview referred to the use of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) bailout fund.

Di Maio’s remark in the La Stampa daily appeared to signal a shift in the position of his ruling 5-Star Movement, which has threatened to bring down the government if it opts to seek financing from the ESM.

ROME (Reuters) - Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy climbed by 420 on Friday, the smallest daily tally since March 19, the Civil Protection Agency said, but the number of new infections rose to 3,021 from 2,646 on Thursday.

Friday’s death toll was down from 464 the day before.

The total of fatalities since the outbreak came to light on Feb. 21 now stands at 25,969, the agency said, the second highest in the world after that of the United States.

ROME, Apr 23 (NNN-XINHUA) – The COVID-19 pandemic claimed over 25,000 lives in locked-down Italy, bringing the total number of active infections, fatalities and recoveries so far to 187,327, according to the latest data, released by the country’s Civil Protection Department.

Wednesday saw 437 new deaths, bringing the total to 25,085 fatalities, since the pandemic first broke out in the Lombardy region on Feb 21.

ROME, April 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Some 180 migrants rescued at sea will be held in isolation on an Italian ferry off the coast of Sicily, the coast guard said.

Italy has refused to take in saved migrants due to the coronavirus epidemic, saying the outbreak, which has killed over 23,000 people, meant it could no longer be considered a port of safety.

Thirty-four people pulled to safety by Spanish NGO rescue vessel Aita Mari were transferred to the Rubattino ferry, which is anchored outside the port of Palermo and staffed by 22 Red Cross volunteers.

ROME, Apr 19 (NNN-XINHUA) – A further 482 people died of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours in Italy, raising the country’s death toll to 23,227.

The total number of confirmed cases — combining active infections, fatalities and recoveries — rose to 175,925, an increase of 3,491 against Friday, according to fresh figures from Italy’s Civil Protection Department.

Also, there were 2,200 additional recoveries in the past 24 hours, bringing the total recoveries to 44,927, since the pandemic first broke out in the northern Lombardy region on Feb 21.

ROME, April 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Italy allowed bookshops and children’s clothing retailers to reopen on Tuesday but some business owners chose to stay shut, fearing it was too soon to lift the coronavirus lockdown.

Launderettes and stationery shops were also permitted to reopen on Tuesday as the government sought to gradually lift stringent lockdown measures imposed on March 9.

But not every shop owner rushed to reopen.

ROME, April 14 (Xinhua) -- The COVID-19 has claimed another 602 lives in locked-down Italy over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of infections, fatalities and recoveries to 162,488 since the pandemic began here in late February, the country's Civil Protection Department said Tuesday.

Speaking during a nightly televised press conference, Civil Protection Department Chief Angelo Borrelli confirmed that there were 675 new active coronavirus infections compared to Monday, bringing the nationwide total to 104,291 cases.

ROME, Apr 14 (NNN-XINHUA) – The COVID-19 pandemic claimed 20,465 lives, in locked-down Italy as of Monday, bringing the total number of infections, fatalities and recoveries to 159,516, according to the latest data released by the country’s Civil Protection Department.

Civil Protection Department Chief, Angelo Borrelli, explained that, there were 566 new fatalities, compared with 431 registered on Sunday.

Active infections increased by 1,363 from Sunday to a tally of 103,616.

ROME, April 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Italy reported its lowest coronavirus death toll in more than three weeks, confirming trends showing that the COVID-19 outbreak in Europe’s worst-hit nation had peaked.

The 431 new deaths reported by the civil protection service were the lowest since March 19. Italy’s death total now stands at 19,899, officially second behind the United States.