Council of Ministers, the contents of the law decree

2020-03-24T21:33:28.071Z

The Council of Ministers, on a proposal from President Giuseppe Conte and the Minister of Health, Roberto Speranza, approved a decree-law that introduces urgent measures to deal with the epidemiological emergency from COVID-19. The decree provides that, in order to contain and contrast health risks and the spread of contagion, they can be adopted, on specific parts of the national territory or on the whole of it, for predetermined periods, each lasting no more than thirty days, reiterable and can also be modified several times until the end of the state of emergency, set at 31 July 2020 by the resolution passed by the Council of Ministers of 31 January 2020. The application of the measures may be modulated upwards or downwards according to the epidemiological trend of the aforementioned virus, one or more of the measures provided for by the decree itself, according to specific adequacy criteria and principles of proportionality to the risk actually present. The measures that can be adopted include: the limitation of the movement of people, the absolute ban on leaving quarters for those in quarantine because they are infected and the precautionary quarantine for people who have had close contacts with infected subjects; the suspension of the activity, the limitation of the entrance or the closure of structures and spaces open to the public such as places intended for worship, museums, cinemas, theaters, gyms, sports centers, swimming pools, swimming centers, sports facilities, dance halls, discos, game rooms, betting rooms and bingo halls, cultural centers, social centers, leisure centers, parks, play areas, urban roads; the limitation, suspension or prohibition of carrying out recreational, recreational, sporting and motor activities outdoors or in places open to the public, meetings, gatherings, congresses, events, initiatives or events of any kind; the suspension of civil and religious ceremonies and the limitation or suspension of sporting events and competitions, even if private, as well as to regulate the methods of sports training within the same places; the possibility of ordering or entrusting the competent state and regional authorities with the reduction, suspension or suppression of services for the transport of people and goods or local public transport; the suspension or closure of educational services for children, schools of all levels and institutions and higher education institutions; the limitation or suspension of the activities of public administrations, without prejudice to the provision of essential and public utility services; the limitation, suspension or closure of the on-site administration or consumption of drinks and food, fairs, markets and retail activities, guaranteeing in any case adequate availability of food and basic necessities from carry out in suitable ways to avoid gatherings of people; the limitation or suspension of any other business activity or professional and self-employed activity; the possibility of applying the nimble working method to any subordinate employment relationship, even in derogation from the regulations in force; the obligation that the permitted activities take place after taking suitable measures to avoid gatherings of people, to ensure compliance with the interpersonal safety distance and, for services of public necessity, where it is not possible to respect this interpersonal distance, provision of protocols of anti-contagion safety, with the adoption of individual protection tools. The decree also governs the procedures for the adoption of these measures, providing that they are introduced with one or more decrees of the President of the Council of Ministers, on the proposal of the Minister of Health or of the presidents of the regions concerned, if they concern one or some specific regions, or the President of the Conference of Regions and Autonomous Provinces, if they concern the entire national territory. It is expected that, pending the adoption of the decrees of the President of the Council of Ministers, the Minister of Health will be able to introduce containment measures with his own ordinances. In addition, for specific situations of aggravated health risk, the Presidents of the regions can issue orders containing further restrictions, exclusively in the areas of their competence. The local ordinances still in force when the decree-law comes into force continue to apply within the limit of a further ten days. The Prime Minister or a minister delegated by him reports to the chambers at least monthly on the measures taken. Finally, the text provides that, unless the fact constitutes an offense, failure to comply with the containment measures will be punished with the administrative sanction of payment of a sum from 400 to 3,000 euros and the contravention sanctions provided for in article 650 of the penal code or any other provision of law conferring powers for health reasons. In the event of non-compliance with the measures envisaged for public businesses or production or commercial activities, the ancillary administrative sanction for the closure of the business or business for 5 to 30 days is also applied. In case of repeated violation of the same provision, the administrative sanction is doubled and the accessory one is applied to the maximum extent. Intentional violation of the absolute prohibition for persons subjected to quarantine to leave their home or home because they have tested positive for the virus is punished, pursuant to article 452, first paragraph, no. 2, of the penal code, with imprisonment from one to five years.