One of Italy’s biggest hot spots — for tourism, not coronavirus — is packed again as the country’s citizens rush out of nearly 10 weeks of lockdown.
St. Mark’s Square in Venice was filled Monday as Italy enters its phase 2 … which allows visiting relatives within the region, taking part in funerals and exercising outside while maintaining social distancing. There’s little social distancing going on in the Square … but, on the other hand, almost everyone is wearing a face mask.
It’s an odd scene because Venice was one of Italy’s epicenters when COVID-19 was ravaging the country … back when the national lockdown started on March 10.
Now, around 4.5 million Italians, mostly in manufacturing jobs, are headed back to work. Big-time companies, like Ferrari, are also reopening as the economy looks to rebound.
Schools, bars, movie theaters are still closed for the time being … as Italy hopes its downward trend in COVID-19 cases continues. Italy at its peak was seeing more than 6,500 cases per day. That number’s gone down significantly … with only 1,389 cases reported Sunday.
France, Spain and several other hard-hit European countries are also easing restrictions this week. Back to normal?