Italy headed into new lockdown as case numbers grow again

Country was among the earliest and hardest lockdown states

Published: March 13, 2021 1:59pm

Updated: March 13, 2021 2:02pm

The Italian government is implementing a new series of restrictions as positive COVID-19 tests grow in that country again even amid the coronavirus vaccine rollout.

The country’s third lockdown over the past year will begin on Monday, the Italian government revealed on Friday. The shutdown, which affects Italians in the country’s most populous regions, will last at least through Easter on Apr. 4 this year.

The lockdown is “necessary to avoid a deterioration that would make even more stringent measures inevitable,” Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Friday.

Positive test numbers had stabilized throughout the month of January but began rising again near the end of February and have continued into March.