Italian Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, said the country will begin to slowly re-open certain factories and building sites to re-open from May 4.

This will happen before allowing more businesses to open in following weeks as it prepares a staged end to Europe’s longest coronavirus lockdown.

More than two months after the first case of COVID-19 appeared in a Codogno, outside Milan and following weeks of lockdown, Italy is going to begin the second phase of the crisis in which it will attempt to restart the economy without triggering another wave of the disease.

"We expect a very complex challenge," Conte said, outlining the roadmap to re-open activities put into hibernation since early March. "We will live with the virus and we will have to adopt every precaution possible."

Manufacturers, construction companies and some wholesalers will be allowed to re-open from May 4, followed by retailers two weeks later, while restaurants and bars will be allowed to re-open fully from the beginning of June although takeaway business will be possible earlier.