The semi-lockdown is in the air, but the certainty is that it won't be as extreme as what we experienced in March (actually until May 4, therefore for almost two months). At this point everyone is pushing for at least a partial closure of the country (allowing essential activities, which this time will include school, and some activities as long as they are strictly daytime): the Regions, mayors, experts, hospitals, even a part of the population, the one frightened by the escalation of infections because perhaps they experienced illness (and even mourning) on a relative or acquaintance. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, who until a few days ago "didn't even want to mention the lockdown", is now forced to make a compromise that could mature over the weekend.
In fact, according to the prevailing sensation in the press, we will only leave the house to go to work or to take the little ones to school. No indoor sports, no clubs, no more trips out of town, no entertainment or cultural consumption that involves being together. But offices, schools and factories, unlike in March-April, will remain open for now, net of smart working which is always encouraged if not mandatory, for an increasing percentage of civil servants. The return to normality, the real one, is therefore still far away: there will be suffering for months to come, also because the optimistic forecasts on the vaccine (which are now certainties: it will be ready in a few weeks) will not quickly translate into rapid distribution in sufficient doses for all and in herd immunity. Initially, and still to wait, they will protect only a small percentage of the population.
The issue now is also how to respond to this second shock wave, from an economic point of view. The Minister of Economy Roberto Gualtieri is already working to imagine economic refreshments for those activities which, inevitably, will be considered "non-essential". Whether or not it will be enough and whether this aid will arrive in time (someone is still waiting for layoffs from March…) is not known.
