OREANDA-NEWS. The Italian government will introduce a nationwide lockdown on Easter weekend from April 3 to 5, follows from the text of the decree adopted on Friday at a meeting of the country's Council of Ministers.

During three holidays, according to the decree, the most stringent restrictions provided for by the rules of the "red" zone will operate in the country. In practice, this means a ban on movement unnecessarily, not only between individual cities and provinces, but also within settlements.

The "color" division of regions into categories depending on the degree of danger has been in effect in the country since November. Starting next Monday, all regions remaining in the "yellow" category will turn "orange". "Red" and "orange" zones close museums and catering establishments, except for take-out or home delivery. In addition, retail is prohibited in red code regions, with the exception of grocery stores, pharmacies, tobacco shops and newsstands. Thus, the only region with minimal restrictions will be Sardinia, which has moved into the "white" zone since the beginning of March.

Before the meeting of the Council of Ministers, the country's Minister of Health, Roberto Speranza, held a meeting with representatives of the regions, at which he spoke about the government's proposals. According to him, the new measures will last until April 6. The new parameters, he noted, will speed up the transition of certain regions to the "red" zone - for this, at least 250 cases of infection should be registered per 100 thousand inhabitants per week.

For toughening existing measures this week, experts from the scientific and technical committee under the government of the country spoke out. Experts are concerned about the spread of new strains of coronavirus, primarily the British one, which is responsible for more than half of the infections.