Italian authorities are urging people to stay at home during the weekend, as traffic rates increase ahead of Easter Sunday in Lombardy, the worst-hit region in the country.
"We analyzed the movements of people through location data and in some municipalities that are on the routes to the holiday resorts we have seen more mobility. This data can be anomalous or it means that people are going to their second homes," said Lombardy's deputy governor, Fabrizio Sala, during a press conference on Friday.
Lombardy has been monitoring its citizens' movement through phone cell's geolocation.
"We have to spend this Easter at home," he added.
The Interior Ministry has ordered local police departments to intensify the patrol of people’s movement ahead of the Easter weekend, and said checkpoints have been implemented on the main roads in and out of cities.
"For the Easter holidays, the prefectures must promote any useful initiative to ensure compliance with the limitations regarding travel within the same municipality and between different locations, including the prohibition to go to homes other than the main one, including the second homes used for holidays," a note on the ministry's website read.
"Even at Easter we must all stay home for our good and loved ones, and to allow Italy to restart as soon as possible," Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese, said in the statement.
In the past month, Italian authorities have fined more than 110,000 people for not following the restrictions, according to the interior minister.