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TOURISM

Italy extends ‘Covid-free’ flights to Canada, Japan and the UAE

Under a raft of new travel measures that come into force from Sunday, Italy will extend the availability of so-called "Covid-free" flights from more countries.

Published: 14 May 2021 14:16 CEST
Italy extends 'Covid-free' flights to Canada, Japan and the UAE
Photo: Piero Cruciatti/AFP

Taking these flights allows passengers to skip quarantine on arrival in Italy, providing they test negative for coronavirus at both ends of the journey.

Such flights are currently only available from the US, but routes will soon be added between Italy and Canada, Japan and the United Arab Emirates, according to a health ministry ordinance published on Friday.

The cities of Naples and Venice will also be served by such flights, in addition to Rome and Milan.

However the government on Friday has not yet confirmed whether it plans to drop the current restrictions on entering Italy from these countries for non-essential reasons, including for tourism.

READ ALSO: Who can travel to Italy right now?

No further details of flight availability were published at the time of the announcement.

The extension of Covid-tested flights was announced as part of a package of rule changes aimed at enticing tourists from countries with higher vaccinaton rates.

Italy’s health ministry also said it was scrapping quarantine requirements for visitors from the European Union, Britain and Israel who can show that they have tested negative for coronavirus.

How do ‘Covid-tested’ flights work?

The US-Italy flights currently in operation are only open to those with an essential reason for travel.

To be permitted on the flight, passengers must test negative in a rapid antigen test for coronavirus no more than 48 hours before boarding and they must get tested again immediately on arrival.

Those wishing to travel must also fill in a digital location form before boarding, the Digital Passenger Locator Form (dPLF).

After completion of this document, passengers receive an email with a QR code, which must be given at the check-in desk in order to be allowed on the flight.

Also during check-in, travellers must provide a completed self-declaration form, specific just to these Covid-tested flights, which states why you are entering Italy from abroad.

There’s more paperwork still. Upon landing in Italy, travellers must present another self-declaration form to the police. Again, this relates to Covid-tested flights only.

Who is allowed to travel to Italy from outside Europe right now?

The rules on international travel into and out of Italy vary according to country of origin.

Anyone who enters the country must quarantine for ten days, unless they take a Covid-tested flight.

The restrictions are set to change soon, the government has promised, without giving details of when.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said the country wants to allow tourists from the United States, Canada and Japan to visit without quarantine if they have been vaccinated,

While the first step is to vaccinate as many residents of Italy as possible before the summer, Draghi said, he also indicated that Italy would revise its strict rules on entering from overseas. 

Stay up to date with Italy’s travel rules by following The Local’s travel section and checking the Italian Health Ministry’s website (in English).

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HEALTH

Covid-19 still causing 1,000 deaths a week in Europe, WHO warns

The World Health Organization's European office warned on Tuesday the risk of Covid-19 has not gone away, saying it was still responsible for nearly 1,000 deaths a week in the region. And the real figure may be much higher.

Published: 27 June 2023 13:27 CEST
Covid-19 still causing 1,000 deaths a week in Europe, WHO warns

The global health body on May 5 announced that the Covid-19 pandemic was no longer deemed a “global health emergency.”

“Whilst it may not be a global public health emergency, however, Covid-19 has not gone away,” WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge told reporters.

The WHO’s European region comprises 53 countries, including several in central Asia.

“Close to 1,000 new Covid-19 deaths continue to occur across the region every week, and this is an underestimate due to a drop in countries regularly reporting Covid-19 deaths to WHO,” Kluge added, and urged authorities to ensure vaccination coverage of at least 70 percent for vulnerable groups.

Kluge also said estimates showed that one in 30, or some 36 million people, in the region had experienced so called “long Covid” in the last three years, which “remains a complex condition we still know very little about.”

“Unless we develop comprehensive diagnostics and treatment for long Covid, we will never truly recover from the pandemic,” Kluge said, encouraging more research in the area which he called an under-recognised condition.

Most countries in Europe have dropped all Covid safety restrictions but some face mask rules remain in place in certain countries in places like hospitals.

Although Spain announced this week that face masks will no longer be required in certain healthcare settings, including hospitals and pharmacies, with a couple of exceptions.

Sweden will from July 1st remove some of its remaining Covid recommendations for the public, including advice to stay home and avoid close contact with others if you’re ill or have Covid symptoms.

The health body also urged vigilance in the face of a resurgence of mpox, having recorded 22 new cases across the region in May, and the health impact of heat waves.

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