Italian court throws out case alleging early pandemic mismanagement by ex-premier, ex-minister

MILAN (AP) — A special Italian court has shut down a probe into whether the country’s former premier and former health minister caused unnecessary deaths by failing to extend a lockdown zone in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. The Court of Ministers in Brescia threw out the case against ex-Premier Giuseppe Conte and ex-Health Minister Roberto Speranza on Wednesday. The investigation alleged errors were made in not extending a “red zone” to Bergamo province. A court must still decide whether to indict more than a dozen other people. The three-year-long probe alleges more than 4,000 deaths could have been prevented if the lockdown had been extended as Bergamo province became Italy’s COVID-19 hot spot.