Although the Italian restrictions are modest, they amount to a test of whether a country can keep the virus at bay without resorting to the blunt-force lockdown strategy used earlier in the pandemic. Italy’s government is specifically targeting nightclubs and evening socializing as cases are increasingly detected among the young.

“We cannot jeopardize the sacrifices made in these last months,” Health Minister Roberto Speranza said. “Our priority must be to safely reopen schools in September.”

After being ravaged by the virus in March and early April, Italy has since emerged as an example of how a careful reopening — and widespread adherence to rules — can help restore a sense of near normalcy. Italy in early March had the highest infection rate in Europe; throughout the summer, it has had one of the lowest rates. The number of people hospitalized in Italy with covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has fallen from 33,000 to 800.

But across the country, people have started to become more relaxed. Some shopkeepers …continued .
[Source: Washington Post]