ROME: Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte delayed a decision on restarting Serie A football but gave the green light for top athletes to resume training in a week's time.
Conte unveiled the first details of how the country will emerge from a lockdown aimed at halting the spread of the coronavirus pandemic that has officially claimed more than 26,000 lives in Italy and 200,000 worldwide.
He said individual athletes would be allowed to resume training on May 4.
Teams could start to train together again on May 18.
But Conte did not say when Serie A might resume a season interrupted on March 9 with Juventus leading Lazio by a point.
"The championship will start again only when it is safe," Conte told the nation in a televised address.
Italian football chiefs agreed on Thursday to push back the end of the Serie A season from June 30 to August 2.