Rome, Sep 8 (IANS): The anti-coronavirus measures in Italy will be extended till September 30, as the country has witnessed a drop in the number of positive cases, the Health Ministry announced.
The country's total confirmed cases reached 278,784, after 1,108 new infections were added in the last 24 hours, Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry as saying on Monday.
The previous day it registered 1,297 cases.
The death toll currently stood at 35,553.
Meanwhile, the extension, according to the government, was necessary to confirm the key rules adopted in the previous months to contain the spread of infections, and especially the new ones introduced on August 7 (with a decree that expired on Monday).
Among the measures added to the country's comprehensive response to Coovid-19 in August were the mandatory use of face masks in public places between 6 p.m. and 6 am and the temporary closure of all dance halls.
The new decree will also comprise the safety rules for the school year 2020/2021 agreed between the central government and the regional authorities, which were already being implemented in these days, as pupils of all grades were gradually going back to their classrooms.
The rules require teachers and staff to wear face masks all the time, and students in primary and secondary schools (from 6 to 18 years old) when the one-meter safety distance rule cannot be observed.
As for school transport, daily sanitation of all buses is required, the installation of hand sanitizers on buses, and mask-wearing for the entire journey are mandatory.
While the new school year would officially begin on September 14, the northeast Trentino Alto Adige and Veneto regions moved ahead with the opening on Monday.
Also on Monday, doctors at the San Raffaele hospital in northern Milan said the health conditions of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, 83, were getting better.
"His overall clinical picture appears to be improving," Alberto Zangrillo, head of the general and cardiovascular intensive care unit, said.
Berlusconi had been admitted to the hospital on August 3 after being tested positive for the coronavirus.