Italy's PM Conte warns of lowkey Christmas as COVID-19 cases pick up

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte adjusts a protective face mask as he speaks during a news conference on the government's new anti-COVID-19 measures at Chigi Palace in Rome, Italy Oct 25, 2020. ROME: Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte warned Italians on Thursday they would have to shun"hugs and kisses" at Christmas to help contain the coronavirus, as the country struggles to curb a surge in deaths and infections.

Shopkeepers and restaurateurs are pinning their hopes on a revival of business around the normally busy Christmas period to revive their battered fortunes, but Conte said in a speech there would be no return to normal anytime soon. Italy has seen 47,870 COVID-19 deaths since its outbreak emerged in February, the second highest toll in Europe after Britain's. It has also recorded 1.309 million cases.The number of excess deaths leapt in October, with the mortality rate more than 20% higher in a string of major cities across the country by comparison to the average of the previous five years, health ministry data released on Thursday showed.

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