Prada begins resuming production

As Italy begins to ease its coronavirus lockdown restrictions, workers are beginning to return to their jobs. Beginning April 20, Prada began reopening their workshop in Tuscany, recalling 300 workers back to the job site. The following week, Prada began reopening factories in Umbria, Marche and Veneto. The collections and sample-making workshops were the last to begin reopening.

The company, of course, is taking measures to help protect its employees. They have reduced work shift hours, built in social distancing between workspaces, and distributed protective equipment including masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer to employees. The rooms are also being sanitized twice a day and nurses are site to test employees for health and wellness.

Prada will test employees on a monthly basis and cover the cost of the approximately 1000 tests per week. Any employees who test positive will have the benefit of the screening process extended to their family.

In a statement, Prada's CEO, Patrizio Bertelli, said, "In this emergency situation we have not only been considering when to reopen our manufacturing facilities but above all how to reopen them in total security, in order to safeguard our employees’ health and protect them from the virus. We therefore immediately sought advice from leading healthcare facilities and from specialist pharmaceutical companies to identify the top-rated medical technology currently available to safeguard the health of our employees with these virus-screening procedures and to contain the virus. The introduction of these measures means we can now confidently restart production in Tuscany, and look forward to extending the above protocols to our plants and offices in other regions when they reopen."