Violence has erupted in Turin and Milan, the northern cities of Italy as protests against new restrictions designed to curb the spread of the coronavirus are underway. It was reported that some protesters in Turin broke away from a peaceful demonstration to begin smashing windows, ransacking luxury shops and clashing with the police who in return fired tear gas, Aljazeera reports.
Several hundred converged in Milan, capital of Lombardy region which in March was the global epicentre of the pandemic with some throwing stones, petrol bombs and fireworks. Protesters chanted, “Freedom! Freedom!”.
People took to the streets after prime Minister Guiseppe Conte announced the early closure of restaurants and pubs by 6pm and the complete shutdown of theatres, gyms and cinemas. Most high schools were ordered to hold online classes and a number of regions imposed night curfews. The government in a bid to control the spread of the disease and avoid another round of disaster imposed these strict measures.
These measures have affected business owners who are still recovering from the total lockdown imposed earlier at the disease’s peak. Taxi drivers, restauranteurs, bar owners, and people who work in cultural industries protested peacefully in about several cities from north to south, including Viareggio, Trieste, Rome, Naples, Salerno, Palermo, Siracusa and Catania.
The PM trying to diffuse anger have promised that funds will soon be made available to business owners, and financial aid with relief measures will be given to workers and businesses affected by the mandatory closure.
“The primary objective is to regain control of the epidemiological curve to avoid that its steady rise can compromise the efficacy of our health sector, as well as the resilience of the social and economic system as a whole,” Conte said in an open letter published on Tuesday, by the Corriere Della Sera newspaper.
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