If it was up to Claudio Lotito, Lazio would be back in training already.

Italy has been in a state of national lockdown since March 9, as it works to contain a coronavirus outbreak that has cost more than 21,000 lives in the country so far. But the president of the club that sits second in Serie A, its top domestic soccer league, believes it is past time that professional athletes should be allowed to return to their jobs.

"I support respecting the rules of the state," Lotito stressed in an interview with his team's official radio station, Lazio Style, on April 7. "[But] I do not understand what motives there could be for not resuming training sessions. There is no medical-scientific basis for preventing a soccer player from going about their activities. With appropriate means of prevention in place, the conditions are right for them to go about their work in safety. Training is an act of work, not recreation."

Lotito has stronger incentives than most to see soccer resume.

Lazio, who have won Serie A only twice in their 120-year history, were unbeaten in 21 games when play was suspended. They trail the league leaders, Juventus, by a single point. His proposal was only for a resumption of training sessions, not yet competitive games, but opponents have accused him of putting sporting ambitions ahead of the public's health. No other Serie A club owner has publicly supported his position, while several have spoken against it. Some have argued for the 2019-20 season to be abandoned and declared void.

Yet Lotito might not be so far away from getting what he wants. Italian soccer's governing bodies are actively preparing for the possibility that training could resume early next month, with the head of the federation's medical committee Paolo Zeppilli detailing guidelines that would see returning players divided into three groups: those who have never knowingly been infected, those who have tested positive but only with light symptoms, and those who have been sick. Anyone in the last group would need to undergo a pulmonary CT scan and additional cardiological tests before being allowed to play.

The president of the sport's national federation, Giuseppe Gravina, insisted this week that the 2019-20 season would be brought to a conclusion -- however long it took.

Italy's lockdown, which has closed all nonessential businesses, banned public gatherings and confined people to their homes, is scheduled to expire on May 4. In reality, that date is a moving target. The government has been extending the lockdown a few weeks at a time, trying to stay flexible in their response to the crisis.

The terms were loosened slightly on Tuesday, allowing bookshops and children's clothing stores to open. Prime minister Giuseppe Conte has expressed optimism that more may be possible soon, but stressed he will act in line with scientific guidance. There are signs that lockdown is helping to contain the spread of the coronavirus, with the daily rate of deaths and new infections trending downwards, but 602 people still lost their lives to the virus in Italy on Tuesday.

- Europe's top leagues and coronavirus: Latest news on plans to resume

- Stream new episodes of ESPN FC Monday-Friday on ESPN+

- Stream every episode of 30 for 30: Soccer Stories on ESPN+

Soccer is hardly an essential business, of course. Lotito's case is simply that top-level clubs can offer their employees a safer workplace than most. "Everything would take place under a regime of constant checks," he said, as he laid out his vision for how training could resume. "There would be preventative screening measures: blood tests and swabs that would allow players to enter into a sporting centre that has been highly sanitised, like [Lazio's training facility in] Formello. They could avoid any type of contact or contagion."