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HEALTH

How to stay safe on public transport under Italy’s lockdown phase two

Italy's health ministry has issued new guidance on reducing the risk of infection when using public transport.

Published: 7 May 2020 13:52 CEST
How to stay safe on public transport under Italy's lockdown phase two
Commuters in central Milan on May 5th. Photo: AFP

More people are now using public transport again, as Italy moved into phase two this week and some workplaces reopened.

Milan's public transport system is currently running at 25 percent of its usual capacity, and across the country buses, trams, and metro trains now feature signs warning travellers to keep their distance.

READ ALSO: What are the rules on travel around Italy during lockdown phase two?

The Italian government has also stated that masks must be worn when using on all forms of public transport.

In addition to this, the Italian health ministry on Wednesday published official advice on staying safe when using public transport – assessed by workplace injury insurance agency INAIL.as being a “medium-high risk” environment for coronavirus infection, the Ansa news agency reports.

The risk rises to “high” during peak times in urban areas, the insurers said.

Here are the steps Italy's health ministry says should be followed when using buses, trams, metros and trains.

  • Do not use public transport if you have any symptoms of acute respiratory infections (fever, cough, or cold).

  • If possible, buy tickets electronically – online or via apps.

  • Follow the signs and designated routes in stations and at stations.

  • Always keep a distance of at least one metre from other people while travelling.

  • Use the doors indicated to get on and off the vehicle.

  • Only sit in places where seating is allowed and maintain a distance from other passengers.

  • Avoid approaching or asking for information from the driver.

  • Use disposable gloves while travelling and be careful not to touch your face.

  • Wear a protective face-mask to cover your nose and mouth.

 

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.

Published: 11 September 2023 12:48 CEST
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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