MILAN:  Italy may apply well-targeted closures where necessary to contain the spread of the new coronavirus while another general lockdown is unlikely, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told la Stampa daily in an interview.

“Today the situation in Italy is certainly better than in other European countries, and we are better prepared - even as a health system - to face a possible resurgence of the spread of the virus,” Conte told the paper.

“At present I exclude the possibility of a general lockdown; there could be - if necessary - well-targeted closures.”

Conte added that the European Union’s proposal for an overhaul of its migration and asylum rules was a “first step but not enough” and the bloc would keep working to put in place efficient measures for repatriation and mandatory relocation.