Prosecutors question Italy's Conte over slow virus lockdowns Prosecutors have questioned Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte about the lack of a coronavirus lockdown on two towns in northern Italy’s Lombardy region that became one of the hardest-hit areas of the country’s outbreakROME -- Prosecutors questioned Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte on Friday about the lack of a coronavirus lockdown on two towns in northern Italy’s Lombardy region that became one of the hardest-hit areas of the country’s outbreak. Lead prosecutor Maria Cristina Rota questioned Conte, and the health and interior ministers, at the premier's office in Rome. After interviewing Lombardy regional officials last month, Rota said it appeared it was the national government's responsibility. Asked if, in hindsight, he should have locked down sooner, Conte told La Stampa daily Friday that he was at peace with the decisions taken. He noted that Italy's health ministry on Jan. 22 issued a circular instructing local health authorities to flag any cases of anomalous pneumonia as possible coronavirus cases that should be tested.

Source: ABC News June 12, 2020 09:52 UTC