Prime Minister Conte has signed an emergency decree last night as the coronavirus situation continues to worsen across the country.
The latest set of rules include reduced opening hours for restaurants and bars, until 6 PM, a closure of theatres, cinemas. music venues, gyms and swimming pools – and a recommendation that people avoid non-essential travel outside their town.
"The activities of games rooms, betting shops, bingo halls, and casinos are suspended. Shows open to the public in theatres, concert halls, cinemas, and other open spaces are also suspended" the decree states.
Many said that the closure of theatres is unnecessary. In fact, a study made by AGIS (the show business association) has shown that from June 15th until the beginning of October, only one audience member was reported positive to Covid. The study monitored - with the official Covid app - 347.262 audience members attending 2.782 theatre shows (on average, 130 people per show), and documented just one positive test – a non-significant percentage.
Italy recorded a further 19,644 new infections on Saturday and 151 deaths