Police in Italy enforce restrictions on Christmas gatherings of families

Police in Italy are out in force to implement new Covid-19 travel restrictions aimed at preventing far-flung families from gathering for Christmas as public health officials appeal for common sense to protect the elderly from infection.

Italy went into a modified nationwide lockdown for the Christmas and New Year period.

Restrictions on personal movement and commercial activity mirror those during the 10 weeks of hard lockdown Italy imposed from March to May when the country became the epicentre of the outbreak in Europe.

Italy is on track Thursday to pass the two million mark in confirmed infections since the first domestic case was registered on February 20-21.

On Wednesday, the country crossed another psychological threshold when its confirmed death toll passed 70,000, the highest in Europe.

Of particular concern is the traditional Christmas Eve dinner, usually a multi-course, multi-generational affair that is a staple of Italian family life over the holidays.

Italians on Thursday lined up at bakeries, fish markets and grocery stores for last-minute shopping to prepare their “cenone” (feast), even as government officials appealed to families to limit gatherings to no more than two people outside the main family unit.

Online Editors