Italy Reports Decline in Daily Fatalities From Coronavirus

(Bloomberg) --

Italy reported a decline in daily fatalities from the coronavirus and a slight dip in new infections on Thursday, as Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte considers speeding up a gradual exit from a national lockdown under pressure from coalition allies and business leaders.

Civil protection authorities reported 1,401 cases for the 24-hour period compared with 1,444 a day earlier, with more than half of the infections in the Lombardy region. New fatalities fell to 274 from 369 on Wednesday. Confirmed cases now total 215,858. Total deaths were 29,958.

Coalition partners including the small Italy Alive party of ex-premier Matteo Renzi and business associations are urging Conte to further relax containment measures which he started easing on Monday, allowing manufacturing and constructions firms to reopen.

Around 50 bar and restaurant owners on Wednesday held a demonstration in central Milan, with empty chairs symbolizing their closed businesses, to denounce the shutdown and highlight the risk of bankruptcy. Police fined several protesters for violating a ban on forming groups during the lockdown.

The government currently plans to allow shops and museums to reopen on May 18, and aims for bars and restaurants, which now can only fill takeout orders, to open fully on June 1 while respecting social distancing rules. Conte, though, is considering allowing these businesses to open earlier.

After a long tussle, the Italian bishops’ conference signed an agreement with the government to restart celebrating Mass from May 18 while respecting health and safety measures, Conte’s office said in a statement earlier Thursday.

Italy’s two-month lockdown shuttered all but non-essential businesses until Monday. Since that day, Italians have been allowed to take longer walks away from their homes or jog in public parks. Previously, they were virtually confined to their homes except for work, health or emergency reasons.

Italy’s economy will shrink by 9.5% this year, the European Commission said Wednesday. The Rome government estimates output falling 8% this year, while Bloomberg Economics sees a 13% contraction.

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