Hard-hit Italy to begin reopening after COVD-19 shutdown

Italy will begin to resume economic activity after instituting lockdown measures amid the coronavirus pandemic.

During an interview published Sunday according to Reuters, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte discussed plans for reopening the nation. 

“We are working in these hours to allow the reopening of a good part of businesses from manufacturing to construction for May 4,” Conte told La Republic, according to Reuters. 

Other operations like bars and restaurants will open slightly later. Reuters noted that businesses considered "strategic" may be permitted to open this week if local prefects approve.

The hard-hit European country's coronavirus death toll has reached 26,644 so far according to Johns Hopkins University. Italy's population is around 60 million people.

In the U.S., the Trump administration has publicized Guidelines for Opening America Again, a multi-phase process for resuming normal activity as the nation works to revive its economy while still protecting people's health. As states determine how to best navigate their way back to normalcy, some states have already begun the process of reopening.