Italy to start easing lockdown from May 4

Italy will announce before the end of this week its plans for gradual reopening starting from May 4 from a lockdown imposed to fight the coronavirus emergency, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Tuesday.

The lockdown, closing most Italian businesses and preventing people leaving their homes for all but essential needs, has been in place since March 9,putting a major strain on the euro zone's third-largest economy.

"I wish I could say: let's reopen everything. Immediately. We start tomorrow morning ... But such a decision would be irresponsible. It would make the contagion curve go up in an uncontrolled way and would nullify all the efforts we have made so far," Conte wrote in a Facebook post.

"We must act on the basis of a national (reopening) plan, which however takes into account the territorial peculiarities."

Conte said the easing of restrictions would happen on the basis of a thorough study and scientific data and not to "satisfy a part of public opinion or to satisfy the requests of some production categories, individual companies or specific regions."

Riccardo Grieco prepares food to be delivered at Palazzo Chigi as home deliveries are the only option to keep restaurants' business running as the lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, Rome, Italy, April 20, 2020. /Reuters

The number of new COVID-19 cases dropped to 2,256 on Monday, the lowest level in well over a month, the Civil Protection Agency said.The total death toll stood at 24,114, the second-highest in the world after that of the United States.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization warned on Tuesday that any lifting of lockdowns to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus must be gradual, and if restrictions were to be relaxed too soon, there would be a resurgence of infections.

"At least until a vaccine, or a very effective treatment, is found, this process will need to become our new normal," said Takeshi Kasai, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific, adding that individuals and society need to be ready for a new way of living.

After weeks of imposing restrictions to public life, some European countries are beginning to ease lockdown measures but the process is careful.

For instance, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged people to stay disciplined as some shops reopen for the first time since coronavirus curbs were imposed in late March.The leader of Europe's largest economy said a full shutdown will be inevitable if the number of infections rises again.

(CGTN)