ROME (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th April, 2020) Authorities in Lombardy, Italy's industrial heartland that became the national epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, said Wednesday it was ready to restart production.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has extended social distancing rules until May 3 but allowed some stores to reopen. Lombardy and other northern regions said they would hold off longer.
But Lombardy's regional council said in a press release that it would ask the central government to allow return to industrial activities starting May 4.
It promised to stick to Four D's � Distance, Devices, Digitization and Diagnosis � by making sure that employees keep a safe distance, equipping them with masks, telecommuting where possible, and testing everyone for the virus.
More than 62,000 people in Lombardy have so far tested positive for COVID-19 and over 11,000 have died from virus-related complications. Nationwide, over 165,000 people have been infected and more than 21,000 have died.
