Though much of Italy remains under strict coronavirus restrictions, restaurants and bars have opened their doors in protest. Customers drank, ate, sang, and in one viral video, apparently booted the police back out the door.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte extended the country’s three-tier coronavirus restrictions on Friday, imposing a nationwide 10pm to 5am curfew until March and forbidding travel between Italy’s 20 regions until February 15. These measures were originally implemented in November, and were set to expire on Friday.
For regions classified as ‘Orange’ or ‘Red’ based on the number of recorded cases there, bars and restaurants are limited to providing take-away only.
The extended restrictions haven’t gone down well with bar owners and restaurateurs. Organizing on social media under the hashtag ‘#IoApro’ (I Open), owners threw their doors open on Friday in protest.
The mood in one Milan establishment was seemingly festive, with music blaring and a full house of unmasked customers ending the night by dancing on tables.
Ericson Report 