Italy: Firms shake lockdown using shortcut in coronavirus law

The government last week extended non-essential business closures to May 3. But more than 100,000 mainly small- and medium-sized companies have applied to keep going or partially reopen.

In principle, a key hurdle for companies to do business should be that they can prove they are part of a supply chain to businesses that are deemed “essential” in a government decree, such as food, energy or pharmaceutical companies.

But the government, facing a backlog of applications, has clarified Italy’s lockdown laws to say no companies need to wait for government approval to go ahead.

More than 105,000 firms have applied to be considered part of essential supply chains, the interior minister said on Wednesday, in a guideline on its website to clarify the lockdown rules.

Of those, just over 2,000 have been turned down and told to suspend their business. More than 38,000 are being investigated and the rest are waiting to be looked at.

The ministry said on Wednesday businesses that have previously submitted such requests can now “benefit from an immediate start” to their business.

So unless companies have been told they are not critical, all they need to do is to inform their local authority that they plan to reopen. Then, without waiting for an answer, they can go ahead.

Full article: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-italy-business-ins/italys-firms-shake-lockdown-using-shortcut-in-coronavirus-law-idUSKBN21Z20V

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