One of Italy's biggest hot spots -- for tourism, not coronavirus -- is packed again as the country's citizens rush out of nearly 10 weeks of lockdown.
St. Mark's Square in Venice was filled Monday as Italy enters its phase 2 ... which allows visiting relatives within the region, taking part in funerals and exercising outside while maintaining social distancing. There's little social distancing going on in the Square ... but, on the other hand, almost everyone is wearing a face mask.
It's an odd scene because Venice was one of Italy's epicenters when COVID-19 was ravaging the country ... back when the national lockdown started on March 10.
Now, around 4.5 million Italians, mostly in manufacturing jobs, are headed back to work. Big-time companies, like Ferrari, are also reopening as the economy looks to rebound.
Schools, bars, movie theaters are still closed for the time being ... as Italy hopes its downward trend in COVID-19 cases continues. Italy at its peak was seeing more than 6,500 cases per day. That number's gone down significantly ... with only 1,389 cases reported Sunday.
France, Spain and several other hard-hit European countries are also easing restrictions this week. Back to normal?