ROME (REUTERS) - Italy may start lifting some restrictions put in place to contain the spread of the new coronavirus by the end of April provided the slowing trend of the epidemic continues, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told the BBC in an interview on Thursday (April 9).

"We need to pick sectors that can restart their activity. If scientists confirm it, we might begin to relax some measures already by the end of this month," Mr Conte told the British state-owned broadcaster.

Mr Conte warned that Italy cannot lower its guard and that the national lockdown imposed on March 9 could only be eased gradually.

There were 542 deaths from Covid-19 in Italy on Wednesday, lower than the 604 the day before, taking the total death toll to 17,669.

There were 3,693 people in intensive care, down from 3,792 on Tuesday – the fifth daily decline in a row.

The decline has raised hopes the virus is on the retreat thanks to a nationwide lockdown, though the number of new cases rose 3,836, compared with 3,039 on Tuesday, to reach 139,422, the third highest globally behind the United States and Spain.

Italy imposed the nationwide lockdown on March 9. Two weeks later, Mr Conte announced that non-essential businesses, including car, clothing and furniture manufacturing, would have to close.

Businesses in the country’s northern industrial heartland have been urging the government to let them reopen factories to prevent an economic catastrophe, even though the north is the area worst hit by the coronavirus.

Branches of employers lobby group Confindustria representing the northern regions of Lombardy, Veneto, Piedmont and Emilia-Romagna, which account for 45 per cent of Italy’s economic output, called on the government on Wednesday to set out a "roadmap" for a return to work.

Separately, Mr Conte also said the very future of the European Union was at stake over its response to the coronavirus.

"We need an economic and social response at the European level," Mr Conte said. "It’s a big challenge to the existence of Europe. If Europe fails to come up with a monetary and financial policy adequate for the biggest challenge since World War II, not only Italians but European citizens will be deeply disappointed."

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In a 16-hour videoconference that stretched through the night from Tuesday afternoon, EU finance ministers failed to seal a deal on how far to go to support their stricken economies.

The ministers are due to reconvene at 1500 GMT on Thursday to try to agree on the package that includes precautionary credit lines from the euro zone’s ESM bailout fund, more lending for companies via the European Investment Bank and funding to help companies maintain liquidity during an economic slump by reducing work hours, rather than cutting jobs altogether.

Divisions have so far prevented a deal between southern EU states, led by Italy, who demand far-reaching measures like issuing joint debt, and the Netherlands, acting as the bulwark of the fiscally conservative north, which is calling for more restraint and narrowly focused measures.

On the European Stability Mechanism, the two clashed over conditions for accessing the money, a key element to be ironed out if there is to be a deal.

"It’s important that we take this decision today on the 500 billion euros (S$773.84 billion) that is in discussion – that’s an incredibly large sum of money that we could use to help a lot of people, especially in the hardest hit countries, Spain and Italy," German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier told a radio interview.

"I have confidence that (German Finance Minister) Olaf Scholz, together with his colleague (French Finance Minister) Bruno Le Maire, can push this forward today and we are all working on that together," he added in a morning broadcast.

Mr Scholz had said on Wednesday that finance ministers had almost reached agreement "but not quite" and he hoped a deal would be struck before Easter.

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The bloc has already relaxed curbs on state aid and public spending to help countries through the virus-induced economic slump.

EU leaders have given their governments until Easter to come up with a list of further possible measures.

Weeks of fraught discussions about the scale and scope of EU support to cushion the economic slump triggered by the pandemic have exposed deep EU divisions, echoing the ones seen in the euro zone and financial crises that started a decade ago.

The 27 member states have also fought over medical equipment and drugs, and imposed emergency border checks inside what normally is Europe’s zone of control-free travel, in further signs of how coronavirus is testing EU unity.