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COVID-19

IN PHOTOS: How Italians made the most of the start of phase two

As some rules were sligtly relaxed in Italy from the start of this week, Italians started getting back outdoors and back to work. Here's a selection of images showing life around the country under "phase two" of its lockdown.

IN PHOTOS: How Italians made the most of the start of phase two
A bar in Rome reopens, serving pizza and aperitivo to take away. All photos: AFP

Under a new set of rules, now valid from May 4-17th, the ban on outdoor exercise has been lifted and parks were allowed to reopen in most parts of Italy.

People enjoy a park in Rome (despite the overgrown grass) on May 4th. Photo: AFP

On Monday May 4th, many people were able to go for a run or walk outdoors for the first time in almost two months – though team sports remain forbidden.

A boy plays basketball alone in a Rome park on May 4th. Photo: AFP

Residents were for the first time able to go out and enjoy the sights in Italian towns and cities without the usual crowds at this time of year.

People stop for a break on a bike ride in central Rome on May 4th. Photo: AFP

Of course it wasn't quite the same everywhere in the country, as regions enforced their own rules and some cities opted to keep parks and beaches closed.

There were emotional reunions too as people were allowed to visit family members and partners. However, big gatherings – including the traditional Sunday lunch for the entire extended family – are still not allowed.

READ ALSO: Who exactly are you allowed to visit under Italy's 'phase two' lockdown rules?

People in certain industries went back to work this week, and all construction work was allowed to restart.

A wrker marks out his space in front of the Colosseum in Rome. Photo: AFP

Buses and metro trains ran at a reduced capacity, with signs warning people to keep their distance.

There's also a new government requirement to wear masks while travelling on public transport.

A sign on a Rome bus reads “sitting forbidden”. Photo: AFP

Commuters in Milan on May 5th. Photo: AFP

Many people also returned home this week, taking advantage of the lifting of a ban on travel from one region to another in order to return to their families.

Travel to and within the country is still tightly restricted, flights and trains are limited, and many southern regions have enforced a 14-day quarantine rule for those returning from northern Italy.

A passenger walks by Red Cross volunterrs conducting temperature checks at Rome's Fiuimicino airport on May 4th. Photo: AFP

In Milan, a network of temporary bike lanes is being expanded across the city centre in order to help commuters avoid public transport.

Cyclists in Milan on May 5th. Photo: AFP

Restaurants and bars across the country were allowed to sell food and drinks – for takeaway only – this week. 

PHASE TWO EXPLAINED: What's changed in Italy from May 4th?

Previously they had only been allowed to operate a delivery service, and some regions had closed restaurants entirely.

A coffee shop employee prepares a customer's takeout order in Rome on May 4th. Photo: AFP

Gelaterias are also allowed to reopen for takeaway orders. Photo: AFP

Not all shops are yet allowed to reopen, and protests were held in Milan, Venice, and other cities across Italy by shopkeepers and business owners angry about lost income due to the shutdown.

People in St Mark's Square in Venice protest the continued closure of many shops and businesses in Italy as phase two began on May 4th. Photo: AFP

Hairdressers in Venice protest over the fact they're not set to be allowed to reopen until at least June 1st. Photo: AFP

 

 

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HEALTH

Italy’s schools warned to ‘avoid gatherings’ as Covid cases rise

As Italy’s new school year began, masks and hand sanitiser were distributed in schools and staff were asked to prevent gatherings to help stem an increase in Covid infections.

Italy’s schools warned to ‘avoid gatherings’ as Covid cases rise

Pupils returned to school in many parts of Italy on Monday and authorities said they were distributing masks and hand sanitiser amid a post-summer increase in the number of recorded cases of Covid–19.

“The advice coming from principals, teachers and janitors is to avoid gatherings of students, especially in these first days of school,” Mario Rusconi, head of Italy’s Principals’ Association, told Rai news on Monday.

He added that local authorities in many areas were distributing masks and hand sanitizer to schools who had requested them.

“The use of personal protective equipment is recommended for teachers and students who are vulnerable,” he said, confirming that “use is not mandatory.”

A previous requirement for students to wear masks in the classroom was scrapped at the beginning of the last academic year.

Walter Ricciardi, former president of the Higher Health Institute (ISS), told Italy’s La Stampa newspaper on Monday that the return to school brings the risk of increased Covid infections.

Ricciardi described the health ministry’s current guidelines for schools as “insufficient” and said they were “based on politics rather than scientific criteria.”

READ ALSO:

Recorded cases of Covid have increased in most Italian regions over the past three weeks, along with rates of hospitalisation and admittance to intensive care, as much of the country returns to school and work following the summer holidays.

Altogether, Italy recorded 21,309 new cases in the last week, an increase of 44 percent compared to the 14,863 seen the week before.

While the World Health Organisation said in May that Covid was no longer a “global health emergency,” and doctors say currently circulating strains of the virus in Italy are not a cause for alarm, there are concerns about the impact on elderly and clinically vulnerable people with Italy’s autumn Covid booster campaign yet to begin.

“We have new variants that we are monitoring but none seem more worrying than usual,” stated Fabrizio Maggi, director of the Virology and Biosafety Laboratories Unit of the Lazzaro Spallanzani Institute for Infectious Diseases in Rome

He said “vaccination coverage and hybrid immunity can only translate into a milder disease in young and healthy people,” but added that “vaccinating the elderly and vulnerable continues to be important.”

Updated vaccines protecting against both flu and Covid are expected to arrive in Italy at the beginning of October, and the vaccination campaign will begin at the end of October, Rai reported.

Amid the increase in new cases, Italy’s health ministry last week issued a circular mandating Covid testing on arrival at hospital for patients with symptoms.

Find more information about Italy’s current Covid-19 situation and vaccination campaign on the Italian health ministry’s website (available in English).

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