MILAN - Calogero Lo Vetro couldn't wait to get back to work. He described the scene he saw on his return as"something from a sci-fi movie," with health monitors decked out like space men checking the staff at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV's Mirafiori plant in the Italian city of Turin during its preliminary reopening.
Under new rules set forth by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, construction and manufacturing activities can return full force on May 4 - Fiat's fellow car makers Lamborghini and Ferrari NV will return that day - but retailers won't be allowed to open their doors until May 18. Bars, restaurants and hair salons can't reopen until at least June 1, though Conte has said businesses in some regions may be able to restart earlier if the contagion curve declines.
Others aren't waiting that long. Owners of a hair salon in the northern city of Padua chained themselves to their store in protest at the delay, saying they're ready to open now - with proper distancing and wearing gloves and masks. Conte warned in Parliament on Thursday of the dangers of rushing to reopen."We are still inside the pandemic," the premier warned."At the risk of being unpopular, the government cannot yet guarantee an immediate return to normal."
While Italy's government forecasts that GDP will shrink 8 per cent this year, Bloomberg Economics sees the economy plunging 13 per cent. Fitch Ratings on Tuesday downgraded the euro area's third-largest economy by a notch to BBB-, just one level above junk, and figures released Thursday show the economy contracted 4.7 per cent in the first quarter, the biggest drop since the series started in 1995.