Where things stand in the race to distribute a coronavirus vaccine
Italy has approved a stimulus package worth €8 billion (about $9.6 billion) to support the sectors most affected by the pandemic, the government said Monday in a news release.
The package delays tax deadlines for businesses in the regions that are under the most severe Covid-19 restrictions, it said.
It also offers a €1,000 euro one-off allowance to workers in tourism, spas, the arts and sport, which have been hit hard by the pandemic.
The government’s work continues “to expand and strengthen the support for Italian workers, professionals and businesses, which must not feel alone in the face of the difficulties that this Covid crisis poses, from which, I am sure, we will all come out soon together,” Finance Minister Roberto Gualtieri said Sunday evening on his Facebook page.
The package also provides funds for the military and police forces.
Italy reported 20,648 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, bringing its total infections to almost 1.59 million. It also reported 541 new deaths, bringing the total to 54,904 since the start of the pandemic.
The president of the Italian doctors’ association (FNOMCeO) Filippo Anelli warned in a Monday news release that households should celebrate Christmas “with prudence.”
“Deaths and infections among doctors have started rising again,” he said, adding that 221 doctors have died since the start of the pandemic.
“At Christmas, the restrictive measures implemented by the government will certainly have cooled down the contagion curve. But this does not mean a free-for-all: the virus is still circulating, and in a much stronger way than in the summer, when we came out of two months of total lockdown,” Anelli said.
“Let’s not repeat the mistakes made in August, let’s not jeopardize months of sacrifices in a few days. Let’s continue to limit movement to what is necessary and to comply with preventive hygiene measures,” he cautioned.
