The Council of Ministers, on a proposal from President Giuseppe Conte, the Minister of Economy and Finance, Roberto Gualtieri, the Minister of Economic Development, Stefano Patuanelli, the Minister of Labor and Social Policies, Nunzia Catalfo and the Minister of Health, Roberto Speranza has approved a decree-law introducing measures to strengthen the national health service and economic support for families, workers and businesses connected to the epidemiological emergency from Covid-19.

The decree intervenes with measures on four main fronts and other sectoral measures:

1. financing and other measures to strengthen the national health system, civil protection and other public bodies involved in the emergency;

2. support to employment and workers for the protection of work and income;

3. credit support for families and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, through the banking system and the use of the central guarantee fund;

4. suspension of payment obligations for taxes and contributions as well as other tax obligations and tax incentives for the sanitation of the workplace and bonuses for employees who remain in service.

These measures are in addition to those already adopted urgently by the Government to prevent the transitory crisis of economic activities induced by the Covid-19 epidemic from producing permanent effects, such as the definitive disappearance of companies in the sectors most affected. In particular, with previous interventions, tax obligations and payments of contributions and mortgages for the inhabitants of the former "red zone" have been suspended, social safety nets have been opened to subjects who in ordinary conditions do not benefit from them, the methods have been enhanced remote work and support was guaranteed for the tourism sector.

The following are the measures established to enhance the intervention capacity of the Health System, of the Civil Protection and of other public subjects committed to facing the health emergency:

- the coverage for the 20,000 hires already approved for the national health system is identified ;

- the National Emergency Fund is increased overall by 1.65 billion;

- the allocation of resources for overtime for health personnel is increased by 150 million euros for 2020;

- the financing of the increase in beds in intensive care and in the pulmonology and infectious diseases units (also in derogation of the spending limits) while private structures must make available the medical staff on duty, the premises and their equipment ( for a cost of 340 million);

- the authorization to Invitalia to disburse subsidized loans or non-refundable contributions to companies producing medical devices and personal protective equipment (50 million);

- the provision that the Civil Protection may order the requisition from public or private subjects of health and medical-surgical devices and of movable assets necessary to face the health emergency. The Prefects will be able to order the requisition of hotels or other properties with similar characteristics to house people under medical surveillance (150 million);

- the possibility of increasing medical and nursing military personnel with an exceptional one year stop, while military health services are strengthened. Inail will be able to hire 200 specialist doctors and 100 nurses for a fixed term, while the allocation to the Istituto Superiore di Sanità is increased to meet the needs of epidemiological surveillance (the total of these interventions amounts to 64 million);

- the possibility, if it is not possible to recruit new staff, to retain the staff of the National Health System who would have the requisites for retirement;

- a derogation from the rules for the recognition of professional healthcare qualifications, to allow temporary exercise on the national territory to those who have obtained a healthcare profession abroad, regulated by specific directives of the European Union;

- provisions on the qualification to practice the profession of doctor-surgeon, with the provision that the achievement of the single-cycle master's degree in Medicine and Surgery will enable the exercise of the profession of surgeon after a suitability judgment on the results relating to skills demonstrated during the practical-evaluation internship carried out within the course of studies;

- the introduction of provisions regarding the advancement of the price in public contracts, aimed at speeding up the purchase and payment procedures for medical materials and equipment;

- the allocation of funds for the payment of overtime due to the major tasks related to the emergency for the Police Forces, the Armed Forces, the Penitentiary Police Corps, the National Fire Brigade, the prefectural career staff, that of the roles of the civil administration of the interior and that of the local police, as well as for the sanitization and extraordinary disinfection of the offices, environments and vehicles in use by the same forces, and to ensure the adequate provision of personal protective equipment;

- the allocation of funds for the extraordinary cleaning of school environments;

- the establishment of the Fund for the sanitation of the environments of Provinces, Metropolitan Cities and Municipalities;

- the provision that, in the state of emergency and, in any case, until 31 July 2020, the acquisition of supplies and services by companies, agencies and bodies of the National Health Service to be used in activities to combat dissemination of Covid-19, if it is financed exclusively through donations of private natural or legal persons, takes place by direct assignment, without prior consultation of two or more economic operators, for amounts not exceeding the thresholds already provided, provided that the reliance is consistent with the reason for the donations;

- the discipline relating to the appointment by special decree of the President of the Council of Ministers of the Extraordinary Commissioner for the implementation and coordination of the necessary measures for the containment and contrast of the Covid-19 epidemiological emergency.