OREANDA-NEWS. Restaurant owners urging Italian authorities to end quarantine measures imposed in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic as soon as possible blocked traffic on the A1 Milano-Napoli motorway in the Incisa area near Florence on Monday.

The protest was initiated by the Protecting National Enterprises (TNI) restaurateurs association, which was broadcast live from the demonstration site on Facebook.

"There are entrepreneurs here who are tired of enduring. They want to reopen their establishments and operate in accordance with the protocols that regulate catering. But they do not want to work in the cold outdoors," said TNI President Pasquale Naccari. In addition, the protesters, who blocked the main highway in Italy, demand the lifting of the curfew in the Apennines.

The demonstrators blocked traffic on the A1 motorway in both directions. They set tables on the road, imitating an outdoor dining experience. As a result, many kilometers of traffic jams immediately formed on the highway. Drivers have to leave the A1 and follow normal roads until the next motorway entrance.

According to the Florentine online edition FirenzeToday, the situation at the place of the demonstration is controlled by the Italian traffic police, no clashes between law enforcement officers and protesters have been recorded. Tension arose only when one of the vehicles knocked down a demonstrator, who was hastily taken to hospital with minor bruises. The driver of the car was soon arrested.