Italy ponders how to exit crippling virus lockdown

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte consulted top scientists Tuesday about ways to safely end a month-long lockdown aimed at stemming a pandemic that has killed thousands and left millions unemployed.

Conte's videoconference with the government's scientific committee came one week before Italy's economically-crippling closure of most businesses and factories is set to expire. Few expect it will.

The shutdown and an accompanying ban on almost all outdoor activity have helped slow the spread of a novel coronavirus that has officially claimed a world-topping 17,127 lives.

The daily reported toll reached 969 on March 27 and has since levelled off. There were 604 new fatalities on Tuesday and the rise in infections fell to a new low of just 2.3 per cent.

But health officials warn that the outbreak appears to have peaked only because of the various closures and bans.

They insist on keeping the containment rules in place as long as possible -- perhaps until a vaccine is developed or some reliable tests can show who has immunity against the new disease.

"We are far from the end," the scientific committee's head Domenico Arcuri told reporters before entering the talks with Conte. "The number of men and women who will die from the virus will continue to rise."