As Italy reopens for business after coronavirus lockdown, some workers ask, what about us?

MILAN (BLOOMBERG) - Calogero Lo Vetro couldn't wait to get back to work. He described the scene he saw on his return as "something from a sci-fi movie," with health monitors decked out like space men checking the staff at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV's Mirafiori plant in the Italian city of Turin during its preliminary reopening.

Lo Vetro, a quality-control officer at the factory whose models include Fiat's new fully electric 500e, on Monday (May 4) joins the nearly 5 million Italians who are fully returning to work after an unprecedented nationwide lockdown. Despite the surreal surroundings, most are happy to go back.

But as politicians salute Italians for their solidarity during nearly two months of a shutdown to combat the coronavirus outbreak, the move to restart the country threatens to create a new divide: between businesses allowed to reopen and those that still have to wait.

Under new rules set forth by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, construction and manufacturing activities can return full force on May 4 - Fiat's fellow car makers Lamborghini and Ferrari NV will return that day - but retailers won't be allowed to open their doors until May 18. Bars, restaurants and hair salons can't reopen until at least June 1, though Conte has said businesses in some regions may be able to restart earlier if the contagion curve declines.

"I'm not sure what will be left," said Alberto Visentini, whose sporting goods store near Milan's Central Station has been shut since early March. Visentini, 61, had originally been told he could reopen March 25.

Conte, who over the weekend apologised for delays in getting financial aid to Italians, has come under fire from coalition allies and companies, especially in the industrial North, for excess caution in easing the lockdown. Ex-Premier Matteo Renzi, who leads a small party in Conte's coalition, has lambasted the prime minister's deliberate approach, saying he'll reconsider his support once Italians get "out of their homes."

Others aren't waiting that long. Owners of a hair salon in the northern city of Padua chained themselves to their store in protest at the delay, saying they're ready to open now - with proper distancing and wearing gloves and masks.

Even after restarting, complications could remain. Ilenia and Elisabetta Cavicchioli have kept business ticking at their salon outside Milan by delivering products to customers' homes.

"Social distancing would dramatically cut our number of customers," Ilenia said. "It could be better for us to stay closed than reopen with reduced sales and new costs for sanitising procedures." That's frustrating, since they're fully booked for June. "After two months in lockdown, who doesn't need a good haircut?," Ilenia said.

Conte warned in Parliament on Thursday of the dangers of rushing to reopen. "We are still inside the pandemic," the premier warned. "At the risk of being unpopular, the government cannot yet guarantee an immediate return to normal."

Other countries are also experimenting with reopening. Madrid filled with joggers on Saturday, as Spaniards were allowed out to exercise for the first time in seven weeks. The next stage of Spain's lockdown phase-out also starts Monday, when restaurants, stores, bars and hotels on four islands will reopen under strict rules.

In Italy, the original epicentre of the European virus outbreak, the number of new coronavirus cases remained stable on Saturday (May 3) while fatalities rose, according to figures provided by civil protection authorities.

While Italy's government forecasts that GDP will shrink 8 per cent this year, Bloomberg Economics sees the economy plunging 13 per cent. Fitch Ratings on Tuesday downgraded the euro area's third-largest economy by a notch to BBB-, just one level above junk, and figures released Thursday show the economy contracted 4.7 per cent in the first quarter, the biggest drop since the series started in 1995.

Even for big companies, the government's exhaustive rules for reopening - covering everything from cleaning, to distancing, to workers' canteens - mean it will be a slow process. For Fiat Chrysler, Italy's largest manufacturer, "it won't be like flicking a switch, our restart will be gradual," Chief Operating Officer Pietro Gorlier said in an interview.

"Nothing will be the same as it was before," Fiat employee Lo Vetro, 47, acknowledged. Still, after 20 years at the company, "it's exciting" to be going back.

Restaurant owners and workers are less elated.

"The lockdown continues to be devastating for us," said Alfredo Zini, 52, owner of Milan eatery Al Tronco. "The food service industry will need a multi-year plan of incentives and clear relief measures" to recover, he said.

For those pushing for more economic activity, restaurants would be a good place to start. Italians, whose myriad cafes, trattorias and pizzerias double as hubs for meeting, networking and deal-making, spent more than 84 billion euros (S$131 billion) at restaurants in 2018, according to the latest full-year figures from industry group Fipe-Confcommercio.

"We're ready to reopen and guarantee health security," said Aldo Cursano, the 57-year-old owner of Kome restaurant in Florence. But the additional wait until June, at the earliest, could be a death blow to his business. "If we don't get financial support from the government we might not be able to reopen at all."