Italy on Saturday shut all non-essential factories after recording another record coronavirus toll that brought its fatalities to 4,825 — over a third of the world’s total and a grim reminder that the pandemic remains out of control. “The decision taken by the government is to close down all productive activity throughout the territory that is not strictly necessary, crucial, indispensable, to guarantee us essential goods and services,” Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said in a dramatic late-night TV address. “We will slow down the country’s productive engine, but we will not stop it,” Conte said.
