Coronavirus: increase in covid cases in Italy, discos closed

Faced with an increase in new infections, being partially attributed to the crowd of party-goers, Italy has ordered a three-week closure of all dance clubs.

In a decree signed Sunday evening by Health Minister Roberto Speranza, the government also stated that wearing masks will be mandatory at night - defined from 18:00 pm to 6:00 am - in "all spaces open to the public".

“Proceed with caution,” the minister tweeted.

New ordinance:
1. Suspension of dance activities, both indoors and out, which take place in discos and in any other space open to the public.
2. Obligation to wear a mask also outdoors from 18 pm to 6 am in places where there is a risk of crowding.
Proceed with caution

The new measure, which takes effect Monday and runs until Sept. 7, comes after a squabble between the government and regions over the nightlife sector, which employs nearly 50.000 people in 3.000 clubs across the country, according to the operators' union. of SILB nightclub.

The decision comes at the end of the sacrosanct weekend of "Ferragosto" in Italy, an important holiday during which most Italians go to the beach and many flock to beach clubs and outdoor discos in the evening.

The internal factories had already been blocked.

Over the weekend, Italian newspapers released images of crowds of young vacationers celebrating in the last few days, as health authorities expressed growing concerns about possible widespread infections.

Some clubs had reportedly struggled to enforce the rules for patrons, despite DJs encouraging people to wear their masks and keep their distance on the dance floor.

Some regions, such as Calabria in the south, had already ordered the closure of all dance clubs, while others such as Sardinia kept them open.

The move came after Italian authorities reported 629 new infections on Saturday August 15, the country's highest daily count of new infections since May.

Italy, the first country hit by the coronavirus crisis in Europe, has officially registered nearly 254.000 cases of Covid-19 and more than 35.000 deaths since the country's first outbreak was detected in late February.