Coronavirus: Italy’s Conte to close all stores except pharmacies, food stores

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte added new restrictions on Wednesday to the lockdown imposed to fight the coronavirus after figures showed Italy posting the highest daily increase in deaths of any country since the outbreak began.

In a televised address to the nation, Conte said that all shops would be shuttered except supermarkets, food stores and chemists, and companies must close all their departments that are not essential to production.

Services such as hairdressers and beauty parlors will also be closed, along with all bars and restaurants.

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Company canteens can remain open if they are able to guarantee they can keep a distance of at least one meter between customers.

“We will only be able to see the effects of this great effort in a couple of weeks,” he said, referring to the daily bulletins announcing the number of new cases and deaths.

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