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HEALTH

Italy’s Covid-19 zone restrictions updated as infection rate drops

Italy's northern region of Lombardy has been moved out of the "red zone" as Italy's coronavirus infection rate dropped for the first time in five weeks.

Published: 23 January 2021 15:20 CET
Updated: 24 January 2021 10:35 CET
Italy's Covid-19 zone restrictions updated as infection rate drops
Milan and the surrounding Lombardy region will be reclassified as an orange zone from Sunday. Photo: Piero CRUCIATTI/AFP

Italy's Rt number, or reproduction rate, has dropped to 0.97 – the first overall reduction seen in five weeks, while admissions to intensive care units and hospital wards have also dropped.

But Health Minister Roberto Speranza said on Saturday that the challenge is still tough as ten regions still have an Rt number above 1.

Under the national tiered system, with rules changing weekly based on the level of contagion risk, the hardest-hit region of Lombardy has been moved from the “red zone” imposed last week, to the slightly less restrictive “orange zone”.

Sardinia faces more restrictions, as it has moved from the “yellow zone” to “orange zone.” 

 
The governor of Lombardy, Attilio Fontana, called the move out of the red zone, “excellent news” and said that schools will resume their activities “as early as Monday.” He referred to reported errors in the data that brought Lombardy into the “red zone” last week.

Meanwhile the governor of Sardinia, Christian Solinas expressed his concern about moving Sardinia into the “orange zone” and hopes for a correction of the decision.

All other regions remain where they were placed last week, which means Sicily and Bolzano stay in 'red zones” with only supermarkets, pharmacies and other stores selling basic necessities left open.

14 regions are will be in the “orange zone” which means shops are open but malls are shut on public holidays. Restaurants and bars are closed except for take-away until 10pm and delivery.

Yellow zones do not face any additional restrictions beyond the national ones.

Health Minister Roberto Speranza has signed the ordinance on Saturday, making the changes official from Sunday 24th January, with the new classification based on the latest health ministry data.

This means Italy's regions will be classified as follows from Sunday January 24th:

Red zones: Sicily, Bolzano

Orange zones: Lombardy, Sardinia, Abruzzo, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Liguria, Marche, Piedmont, Puglia, Umbria and Valle D'Aosta, Calabria, Emilia-Romagna and Veneto
 
Yellow zones: Campania, Basilicata, Tuscany, Molise and the autonomous province of Trento
 

A nighttime curfew remains in effect throughout the country from 10pm to 5am and gyms, pools and theatres remain closed.  

Last week, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced a new emergency decree which keeps the current ban on non-essential movement between regions in force until at least February 15th. 

Travel between regions is allowed for work, health, or other essential reasons.

New 'white zones'

Under the new emergency decree, Italy has also added an extra tier to its system of varying restrictions: white, reserved for parts of the country where the coronavirus risk is lowest. 

These areas are exempt from the restrictions in place in yellow, orange or red zones, including the nightly curfew and 6pm closing time for bars and restaurants.

EXPLAINED: What are Italy's new coronavirus 'white zones'?

To qualify, regions must have fewer than 50 cases per 100,000 inhabitants for three weeks straight, as well as showing other positive indicators such as a low reproduction number and effective tracing system.

None of Italy's 20 regions currently meet the criteria, under the latest health data.

Note: Some rules may vary under local or regional restrictions in Italy. It is recommended that you also check the rules set by your town and region. Find out how to do that in a separate article here.

For further details on the current coronavirus situation in Italy, please see the Health Ministry's website (in English).
 

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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.”

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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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