Via NY Post:
MILAN — Italy recorded a pandemic-high daily death toll Thursday, providing a grim backdrop for Premier Giuseppe Conte’s cheerless announcement of restrictions for the Christmas holidays that will make it difficult for extended families to celebrate together as is customary.
Italiasn like to say, “Christmas with family, Easter with whomever you please,” underlining the sacrosanct notion of spending Christmas and St. Stefano’s feast day on Dec. 26 with as much far-flung family as possible. Even regional governors, including Luca Zaia of Veneto and Attilio Fontana of Lombardy, pushed vainly for more flexibility.
Conte stood firm. While Italy has managed to slow the fall resurgence with a month of tiered restrictions, without resorting to last spring’s 10-week total lockdown, the death toll remains stubbornly high. A total of 993 people died in the previous 24 hours, officials reported Thursday, eclipsing the previous high of 969 hit March 27 as Italy struggled to contain the first deadly peak.