Interior min tells prefects to crack down on gatherings

(ANSA) - ROME, NOV 10 - The interior ministry on Tuesday told prefects to crack down on public gatherings amid a COVID spike.
    The ministry called for "tighter" controls and "more effective and prompt" action to stop people gathering, especially at the weekend.
    It said prefects should coordinate action with mayors under the provisions of the government's latest COVID decree that envisages sealing off streets and piazzas.
    The instruction was contained in a circular sent to prefects by interior minister cabinet chief Bruno Frattasi.
    It came after pictures of hundreds of people gathering in public over the last weekend.
    Frattasi told prefects they should urgently convene provincial committees for public order and safety/ security in order to plan action.
    The government last week introduced a three-tiered colour system to combat a second wave of COVID.
    This saw Calabria, Lombardy, Piedmont and Val d'Aosta go into a soft lockdown after being classed as high-contagion-risk red zones.
    The autonomous province of Bolzano joined them on Monday, when five regions - Abruzzo, Umbria, Basilicata, Liguria and Tuscany - were bumped up from yellow to orange zones, joining Puglia and Sicily.
    These areas have slightly less stringent restrictions as they have been classed as medium-high risk while the rest of the country is moderate risk - yellow.
    Under the restrictions, which apply until, December 3, non-essential shops and markets are closed in red zones and travel outside one's home town is banned, except for work or health reasons.
    On Sunday Filippo Anelli, the president of the Italian federation of medical guilds (FNOMCEO), called for Italy to be put into a "total lockdown throughout the country".
    In a Facebook post, Anelli said the national health system cannot cope with the rising number of COVID-19 cases and warned Italy could suffer 10,000 more deaths than the current rate in a month. (ANSA).