Italy eyes lockdown extension till May first week

Rome: Italy’s COVID-19 death toll rose by 610 in the last 24 hours to 18,279, even as pressure on the country’s hospitals continued to ease with a fall in the number of patients in ICUs, the Civil Protection Agency said. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte was reportedly ready to extend most measures of Italy’s month-long lockdown until early May in order to avoid a second coronavirus wave. He held a teleconference with leaders to discuss when Italy can begin to relax the restrictions imposed to contain the disease. “We need to pick sectors that can restart their activity. If scientists confirm it, we might begin to relax some measures already by the end of this month,” he said.