Italy PM questioned for 3 hours over handling of coronavirus emergency

Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte was interrogated by prosecutors on Friday over the Italian government’s handling of the COVID-19 epidemic.

For two hours and 40 minutes, the Premier answered questions by prosecutors from Bergamo probing the management of the crisis in two towns in Lombardy which were among the first to be struck by the novel coronavirus.

Conte and his health and interior ministers Roberto Speranza and Luciana Lamorgese were quizzed over the alleged failure in setting up “red zones” promptly in the towns of Nembro and Alzano Lombardo, identified as hotspots of the epidemic.

The northern region of Lombardy has been at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak in the country and is still seeing an average of over 50% of the new daily cases and deaths.

Conte has said he is not worried about the probe and told Italian media, “I acted according to science and my conscience.”