ROME, May 26 (Xinhua) -- A further 78 COVID-19 patients had died in the past 24 hours in Italy, bringing the country's toll to 32,955, out of total infection cases of 230,555, fresh figures showed on Tuesday.

Nationwide, the number of active infections dropped by 2,358 to 52,942 cases, according to the Civil Protection Department.

Of those who tested positive for the new coronavirus, 521 are in intensive care, 20 fewer compared to Monday, and 7,917 are hospitalized with symptoms, a decrease of 268 patients compared to Monday.

The rest 44,504 people, or about 84 percent of those who tested positive, are quarantined at home with no symptoms or only mild symptoms.

Recoveries rose by 2,677 compared to Monday, bringing the nationwide total to 144,658.

The overall number of COVID-19 infections, fatalities and recoveries has risen to 230,555 cases over the past 24 hours from 230,158 cases by Monday.

LEAVE NO ONE BEHIND

Economy and Finance Minister Roberto Gualtieri on Tuesday explained at a Lower House hearing the government's so-called Relaunch Decree -- a 55-billion-euro (60.4 billion U.S. dollars) package which contains a mix of welfare benefits, tax cuts, targeted investments, and cash injections to keep families and companies afloat.

The decree allocates 3.5 billion euros to cash-strapped municipalities, provinces and regions; 1.6 billion euros to universities and the research sector; 1.5 billion euros to the school system; and 500 million euros to local public transport.

"By its scope and size, this decree is unprecedented," Gualtieri told lawmakers.

The objectives, Gualtieri said, are to "try to absorb the shock" of the pandemic-related crisis to structurally reinforce crucial sectors such as health care, research and higher education, to "protect the various sectors of society" including the most fragile ones, and to safeguard Italy's productive system.

"It is fundamental to provide adequate support so that no one is left behind," Gualtieri said, adding that "in the month of April alone, the amount of unemployment benefits paid equalled to those paid in the entire year 2009 (the year after the 2008 global financial crisis)".

The government wants to spark "a recovery that will be in step with the challenges of our times and favour the transition towards more sustainable, resilient, and innovative development," Gualtieri said.

JOB LOSSES

In its recent bulletin on the impact of the pandemic, based on April data, the National Agency for Active Labour Market Policies (ANPAL) said there were 735,000 fewer permanent hires and 200,000 fewer temporary hires between March 10 and April 23 compared to the same period in 2019, and a government-imposed moratorium on firing employees during the COVID-19 emergency "is not sufficient to compensate for the plunge in new job contracts."

On Tuesday, Italian news agency ANSA quoted ANPAL President Domenico Parisi as saying that 500,000 existing jobs will likely be lost this year due to the pandemic, and that Italy won't be able to return to its pre-pandemic employment levels until 2023.

Some of those job losses are likely to occur in the publishing sector, where book sales dropped by 8 million copies in March-April compared to the same period last year, the Italian Publishers Association (AIE) said in a statement out Tuesday.

This means "about 134 million euros of turnover have already been lost in the first four months of the year," AIE said.

"We are facing an epochal crisis," said AIE President Ricardo Franco Levi.

Falling household income and pandemic-related job insecurity means people have less money to buy books, and this will cause many job losses unless the government comes up with "significant measures to shore up demand," Levi said.

"We fear the entire book market could close out 2020 with turnover down by 650-900 million euros, compared to 3.2 billion euros overall in 2019," he added.

POMPEII REOPENS AFTER LOCKDOWN

The Pompeii Archeological Park reopened on Tuesday with a series of new rules to make it safer for people to visit the legendary remains of the ancient Roman city that was frozen in time by the 79 AD eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, the volcano overlooking the Bay of Naples in southern Italy.

Tickets must be booked online, a maximum of 40 people are allowed in at 15-minute intervals, and visitors must follow a one-way itinerary through the ruins of the celebrated city, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

"The reopening of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii brings with it a pleasant, just-restored surprise for visitors -- the elegant House of the Cornelii, which faced one of the most famous bath complexes of the city ... the Stabian Baths," Pompeii authorities wrote on Twitter.

The pandemic has visibly slowed down in recent weeks. On May 18, the ten-week lockdown imposed on March 10 was further eased and shops, restaurants, bars, barbershops, beauty salons, museums, and beachfront operators were all allowed to reopen, provided that they respect rules for social distancing and disinfect facilities. (1 euro = 1.10 U.S. dollars) Enditem

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