The Prime Minister of Italy has made a decree related to health, requesting people to stop the formal approach of greeting, handshake and also to stop kissing for the meantime. Giuseppe Conte gave this decree as one of the measures aimed at fighting the spread of COVID-19 in Italy.
The Italians who are renowned for their great courtesy, would find thus new decree quite difficult, as many Italians strongly believe that greeting has to include firm handshakes, hugs and kisses. However, many would understand that it is only a measure to mitigate coronavirus.
This timely decree would no doubt affect their daily life in a country where greeting with a kiss on the cheeks – is a common form of greeting and that includes men.
Personal contact among many other prevention measures, is what Conte intends to address the people of Italy. This is very important as coronavirus cases have soared tremendously in Italy.
According to reports, one of a way of reducing the outbreak is to allow the senior citizens aged 75 and above stay back at home.
Italy currently has the biggest outbreak in the whole of Europe, with 79 deaths already recorded and 2500 reported cases.
In a serious fight against this virus, there are considerations by the Italy government to declare state of emergency on the Northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto, where there have more reported cases.
“This week will definitely be important,” Civil Protection Agency chief Angelo Borrelli said on Tuesday. “We are ready to review our actions depending on the scenarios that we will up against, aiming for more strictness or even, we hope, less,” he said.
NAN