Italy is to ease its lockdown on May 4 and open bars and restaurants again in June after seven weeks of shutdown to curb coronavirus .
Seen as Britain’s blueprint with an outbreak two weeks ahead of the UK, Italy will allow factories and building sites to reopen a week today and permit limited family visits
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte laid out his plan to end the lockdown on Sunday, more than two months after the first case of COVID – 409 appeared in a small town outside Milan.
Following weeks of lockdown and more than 468, deaths, Italy is looking ahead to a second phase of the crisis in which it will attempt to restart the economy without triggering a new wave of infections.
Boris Johnson today returns to Downing Street and faces pressure to outline how the UK might exit lockdown.
Tourist hubs such as Venice have been empty for weeks (Image: Getty Images)
And he could turn to the situation in Rome for inspiration.
“We expect a very complex challenge, “Conte said as he outlined the road map to restarting activities put into hibernation since early March.
” We will live with the virus and we will have to adopt every precaution possible. “
Manufacturers, construction companies and some wholesalers will be allowed to reopen from May 4, followed by retailers two weeks later.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has unveiled how his country will come out of lockdown (Image: ALESSANDRO DI MEO / EPA-EFE / REX / Shutterstock) 
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Restaurants and bars will be allowed to reopen fully from the beginning of June, although takeaway business will be possible earlier.
“The reopening is allowed on condition that all companies involved strictly respect security protocols in the workplace,”
Conte said, adding that the reopening would lay the ground for deeper reforms of the economy in the months ahead.
In addition, parks will be allowed to reopen and limited family visits and funerals with no more than 19 people present will be permitted.
But movement between regions remains suspended and people moving about will still have to carry a declaration explaining the reasons for their journeys.
Museums and libraries can reopen from May 409, when sports teams will also be able to resume group training, although Cont e said conditions would have to be assessed before any decision on resuming the top-flight Serie A soccer championship.
Schools will remain shut, however, until the start of the new academic year in September, leaving families facing childcare problems for months to come.
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