Italian health officials declared a long-sought victory on Friday over the coronavirus in poorer southern regions that were less prepared for the pandemic than the wealthier north.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte had warned six weeks ago that Italy's ability to conquer Covid-19 depended on whether cases can stay largely contained to its northern epicentre around Milan.
The disease has now officially claimed 22,745 lives in the Mediterranean country of 60 million people - a toll second only to the United States.
But Italy has still counted itself relatively lucky because the outbreak erupted in provinces with the best equipped medical staff.
Mr Conte decided to gamble early by imposing the Western world's first peacetime national lockdown while the disease was still gathering force.
His team argued that the short-term economic pain would pay off by saving the health care system and allowing the country to gradually reopen in the weeks to come.
Italy's top health officials said on Friday that Mr Conte's big bet had paid off.
"We have prevented the spread of contagions in southern regions," public health council chief Franco Locatelli told reporters.
"This is now a fact supported by figures."
-
An Indian policeman patrols the streets during coronavirus lockdown in Bhopal, India. EPA -
A sign encouraging people to stay at home is displayed on a busstop along Victoria Street, central London. AFP -
A man wears a protective face mask whilst travelling on the London Underground. Reuters -
A man plays the guitar outside his apartment next to a deserted canal in Venice, Italy. Reuters -
A woman has her temperature checked at the entrance of the IFO Regina Elena and San Gallicano hospital in Rome, Italy. EPA -
A healthcare worker attends to a Covid-19 patient at the Intensive Unit Care of the Povisa Hospital in Vigo, northwestern Spain. AFP -
The 30 Rockefeller Plaza tower in Manhattan is seen illuminated in blue as part of the "Light It Blue" initiative to honor healthcare workers in New York. Reuters -
A Buddhist monk collects alms at an outdoor market in Bangkok, Thailand. AFP -
Commuters make their way at Nagoya station in Japan. Kyodo News via AP -
A first responder in a dinosaur costume greets healthcare workers during a shift change along with Bothell firefighters at the Evergreen Health Medical Center, in Kirkland, Washington, USA. Reuters -
A shop owner receives money from a customer behind a sheet of protective plastic at a convenience store in South Tangerang on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia. AP Photo -
Volunteer Rupert Stobo shops at the grocery store for someone in need in Auckland, New Zealand. Getty Images -
A member of the military stands guard as Venezuelans board a bus back to their homes after being quarantined at the Colombian border in Urena, Tachira, Venezuela. EPA -
Sydney FC A-League player Anthony Caceres trains by himself at Bondi Beach on April 17, 2020 in Sydney, Australia. Getty Images -
A man is seen lying on the floor near of empty boxes that will be used to distribute food for free in Jakarta, Indonesia. Reuters -
A health worker sprays disinfectant as people gather outside Insein prison waiting for the release of prisoners in Yangon, Myanmar. Reuters -
A person waits for a flight at the Tom Bradley Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles. AFP -
Medical workers walk during a short break at Maimonides Medical Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York, USA. Reuters
However, business leaders charge that Mr Conte is doing unnecessary damage to the economy by extending the shutdown for too long.
The latest data from Italy's civil protection service offered new reasons for Mr Conte not to extend some of the strictest measures when they expire on May 4.
They showed the number of people currently being treated for Covid-19 rising by only a few hundred for the first time since the outbreak began.
The current number of cases had been going up by at least 1,000 a day for over a month.
But they edged up by just 11 outside Milan's Lombardy region on Friday.
"In absolute terms, we have had had the highest number of recoveries since the start of the crisis," civil protection service chief Angelo Berrelli told reporters.
Mr Conte also unveiled plans to roll out a phone app that could potentially help trace coronavirus infections and further stop the spread.
The generally improving picture prompted the civil protection service to announce that it was suspending daily briefings and moving to a twice-a-week format.
New tolls will still be issued daily.
The leaders of Italy's northern industrial heartland are pushing Mr Conte to take another gamble and open as many businesses and industries as possible in early May.
The shutdown has devastated once-booming factory towns and left millions furloughed or temporarily unemployed.
Italy's central bank said industrial production had declined by 15 per cent in March and total economic output was set to contract by five percent in annual terms between January and March.
But a standoff is emerging between the northern leaders and those south of Rome.
Naples's Campania governor Vincenzo De Luca warned Friday that he may have to "close our borders" to people from the north should those regions' stay-at-home orders be lifted.
The scale of business reopening will be determined by the number of deaths and recoveries reported over the coming days.
Italy is still digging though data from individual regions to determine the true impact of its worst disaster since World War II.
Previously undisclosed figures from its public health institute revealed that nearly 17,000 medics have been infected with the virus since Italy's first Covid-19 death was recorded on February 21.
Several Italian doctors have expressed fears that infected health care workers may have been unwittingly spreading the disease to their patients in the early weeks of the outbreak.
A study released Thursday by the FNOMCeO medical association said Covid-19 has killed 125 doctors in Italy.
