“The decision taken by the government is to close down all productive activity throughout the territory that is not strictly necessary, crucial, indispensable, to guarantee us essential goods and services,” Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said in a dramatic late-night TV address.
“We will slow down the country’s productive engine, but we will not stop it.”
Italy on Thursday overtook China as the global epicentre of the coronavirus.
As of Sunday evening, it had registered 5476 deaths.
National Health Institute (ISS) chief Silvio Brusaferro urged the elderly to stay in doors at all times because the average age of victims in Italy was 78.5.
“If you do not follow all the [government] measures, you make everything more difficult,” he said.
“If you do, we can make this outbreak slow down.”
Italy has been under total lockdown for two weeks, with 60 million people confined to their homes.
All businesses have been closed except for food stores and pharmacies.
Conte’s government is hoping that the drastic quarantine measures will ultimately prevail.
