On March 22 the Decree of the President of the Council of Ministers of March 22, 2020, (available here) was published in the Official Gazette no. 76, containing "further provisions for the implementation of Decree Law no. 6 of February 23, 2020, establishing urgent measures, applicable throughout Italy, for the containment and management of the COVID-19 epidemiological emergency".

The new Decree  ̶ which came into force on March 23  ̶ provides for a further limitation of the free movement of persons and workers, as well as the economic and organizational freedom of companies. In fact, following the suspension of several commercial activities already provided for by the previous Prime Ministerial Decree of March 11, 2020, the new Decree provides for the closure of all production activities and non-core services throughout the country until April 3, 2020.

Restrictions on the movement of workers

In order to contain and counter the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the new Decree prohibits all natural persons from travelling or moving, by public or private means of transport, to a municipality other than the one in which they are currently located, except for (i) proven work needs, (ii) extreme urgency or (iii) health reasons.

The new provisions are much more restrictive than the previous ones. In fact, it is no longer permitted to return to one's domicile, home or residence throughout the country. Moreover, the "situations of need" that until now allowed the movement within the territory, shall now be of the nature of an "extreme urgency", a justification that needs to be proven in order to verify the truthfulness of the self-declaration.

Suspended activities

The Decree of March 22, 2020, also provides for the suspension of all industrial and commercial production activities for the entire national territory, except for the essential activities identified by the Decree itself.

It is important to point out that, although the new provisions take effect as of March 23, companies whose activities are suspended by this Decree may complete the activities necessary for the suspension by Wednesday, March 25, 2020, including the shipment of goods in stock.

In addition, it should be noted that all non-essential activities that would be suspended by the new Decree may still be carried out in agile working mode (so-called smart working) governed by Articles 18 to 23 of Law no. 81 of May 22, 2017, always in compliance with the duties assigned to the employee. As provided for in the previous emergency measures, smart working may be activated by the employer in a simplified manner and with a simple written communication to the employee, since no agreement with the employee is necessary.

Non-suspended activities

As shown above, the new measure provides for the suspension of all industrial and commercial production activities, with the exception of essential activities expressly identified by the Decree.

For retail business activities, the provisions of the previous Prime Ministerial Decree of March 11, 2020 - which provided for the suspension of retail business activities, both in medium and large retailers and in shopping centers and neighborhood shops, except for the sale of food and "basic necessities" - and the Order of the Ministry of Health of March 20, 2020, remain unchanged, with the only difference that the suspension of these activities is extended from March 25 to April 3, 2020.

As far as production activities are concerned, Annex 1 to the measure specifies the activities to be considered "essential", and therefore to be excluded from suspension, and identifies further activities that remain allowed at all times.

1. List of "essential" activities

The Decree contains a detailed list of activities considered essential (available here) drawn up by the government with the collaboration of trade unions and trade associations.

These essential activities concern both strictly productive activities (in the food, textile, pharmaceutical and other sectors) and transport and trade activities, and are identified by their "Ateco code".

This allows the companies concerned to verify precisely whether or not they fall within the activities suspended by the Decree.

Please note that the list in Annex 1 may be subject to subsequent amendments by decree of the Minister of Economic Development, after consultation with the Minister of Economy and Finance.

2. Activities that remain always permitted

In addition to the activities identified in the above list, the emergency Decree expressly allows further activities to be carried out. In fact, the following activities are always permitted:

• the production, transport, marketing and delivery of pharmaceuticals, health technology and medical-surgical devices, as well as agricultural and food products;
• activities that provide services of public utility, as well as essential public services (as per Law no. 146/1990), with the exception of the opening to the public of museums or educational services if not carried out remotely;
• any activity however functional to deal with the emergency.

Other activities, on the other hand, can only be carried on after notification/authorisation to/by the prefect. In particular, the following activities remain permitted:

• the activities of the aerospace and defense industry, as well as other activities of strategic importance for the national economy, subject to authorisation from the prefect of the province where the production activities are located;
• the activities that are functional to ensure the continuity of the supply chains of the essential activities listed in Annex 1, as well as of public utilities and essential public services, "subject to notification to the prefect of the province where the productive activity is located, in which the companies and administrations benefiting from the products and services related to the permitted activities are specifically indicated";
• the activities of plants with a continuous production cycle, "subject to notification to the prefect of the province where the production activity is located, from the interruption of which a serious damage to the plant itself or a danger of accidents derives".

In the latter two cases, the prefect may suspend activities if he/she considers that the conditions required by the provision are not met. However, it should be noted that until the adoption of the measures suspending the activity, the companies concerned may legitimately exercise their activities on the basis of the communication made.

In any case, the communication does not cover the activity of plants with a continuous production cycle, for which an interruption would cause serious damage to the plant itself or the risk of accidents. aimed at guaranteeing the provision of an essential public service.

In addition, professional activities are not suspended, but they must continue to comply with the health and hygiene recommendations specified in the Prime Ministerial Decree of March 11, 2020, and therefore:

1. make maximum use of the agile working mode (so-called smart working) for activities that can be carried out from home or remotely;
2. encourage paid holidays and paid leave and other means provided for in collective bargaining;
3. suspend the activities of company departments not essential to production;
4. adopt anti-contagion safety protocols, possibly with the adoption of individual protection instruments;
5. encourage the sanitation of workplaces.

Lastly, companies whose activities are not suspended are required to comply with the contents of the "Shared protocol to regulate measures to counter and contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus in the workplace" signed on March 14, 2020,between the government and the social partners (available here).