Italy extends coronavirus emergency until January 31 amid fears of second wave

Italy will extend the state of COVID-19 emergency until January 31 next year, Health Minister Roberto Speranza announced on October 6. Italy, which is one of the earliest nations hit by the lethal respiratory infection has been under state of emergency since January. However, with the threat of a second wave looming large on Europe, the Giuseppe Conte-led government has decided to take the path of "prudence" and extend the lockdown.

"Our course should be prudence and caution. Therefore, I believe that the government's choice to extend the emergency situation until January 31 is right. I believe that this fully corresponds to the epidemiological period that we are experiencing," Speranza told the upper house of the parliament.

However, the opposition leaders have shown dismay upon the decision. As per Italian law, the state of emergency allows the cabinet to make key decisions on COVID-19 response without seeking approval from the parliament.

Mandatory use of masks

Earlier in the day, Speranza also addressed the lower house to present a government decree on COVID-19 measures. As per the new decree, wearing of masks or any other face-covering outdoor would be made obligatory. The order is set to be approved later this week. Italy has so far confirmed more than 327,000 COVID-19 cases, including over 233,000 recoveries and 36,002 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. 

Read: Floods In France, Italy Swept Bodies Out Of Cemeteries

Read: Death Toll Rises To 12 As Italy, France Witness Devastating Floods; Several Missing

Meanwhile, severe mountain flooding has destructed parts of Italy and France claiming at least 12 lives. Three dead bodies were found on the French side which shares a border with Italy. According to the Associated Press reports, hundreds of rescue workers were rushed to the spot and a rescue operation was initiated to search for up to 20 others still missing. The massive flooding ravaged the mountainous regions in France's southeastern Alpes-Maritimes region and Italy’s northwestern regions of Liguria and Piedmont in the aftermath of a storm that hit the regions on Friday and Saturday.

As per reports, many dead bodies could not be identified as the current in the waters swept them away. France's Alpes-Maritimes region prefect was reported to have spoken to a local newspaper, Nice Matin, claiming that some bodies found in Italy side were apparently corpses from coffins that had been swept away across the border by the immense currents in the water.

Read: 17 Missing After Rivers Overflow In Northern Italy

Read: Flooding On France-Italy Border Kills Firefighter; 25 Missing

(With inputs from ANI)

Image credits: AP