Italy extends ban on movement between regions until late march

A cabinet meeting chaired by Draghi prolonged travel curbs between regions until March 27 and maintained a 10 p.m. curfew, according to a statement. The government also introduced a ban on visits between households in the highest-risk areas.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has extended a ban on movement between the country’s 20 regions for another month -- until late March -- as his new government tries to step up a vaccination campaign to counter the pandemic.

The premier is weighing whether to make changes to Italy’s three-tiered system of restrictions based on regional conditions. (Reuters file photo)

A cabinet meeting chaired by Draghi prolonged travel curbs between regions until March 27 and maintained a 10 p.m. curfew, according to a statement. The government also introduced a ban on visits between households in the highest-risk areas.

Draghi has made speeding up vaccinations a priority for his administration, with a plan to draw on civil protection officials, the armed forces and volunteers. He’s aiming to kick-start an economy crippled by the pandemic as well as a year of national and regional lockdowns.

The premier is weighing whether to make changes to Italy’s three-tiered system of restrictions based on regional conditions. The rules come up for renewal on March 5 as the pandemic has claimed more than 95,000 lives in a country trapped in the worst recession since World War II, with debt at almost 160% of output.

Ministers have also studied demands from regional chiefs including automatic compensation for businesses hit by closures and a review of the criteria for prompting new curbs, in order to allow more businesses to remain open.