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COVID-19 RULES

Covid-19: Italy makes outdoor mask wearing compulsory

Italy has reintroduced the mandatory wearing of face masks in outdoor spaces to contain mounting coronavirus cases driven by the Omicron variant, Health Minister Roberto Speranza said Thursday.

Published: 24 December 2021 09:53 CET
People wearing face masks outside in Rome, Italy.
Masks will be obligatory in all of Italy's outdoor spaces. Photo by Vincenzo PINTO / AFP

The minister, who announced the measure to the cabinet, did not say when the rule would come into effect but stated that higher quality masks would be required in certain venues including cinemas, theatres, sporting events and on public transport.

“It’s a difficult phase” in the face of raging infections that the country is confronting because of the Omicron variant of coronavirus, Speranza said.

New measures “should create stronger protections for our population and our health system,” he added.

EXPLAINED: What will change under Italy’s new Covid decree?

Italy has been one of the most pro-mask countries in Europe since the start of the pandemic and wearing a face mask in busy public areas has been mandatory since May 2020, with the rules tightened even further in October 2020, then subsequently dropped only this summer.

According to the latest rules, it will be compulsory to wear FFP2 masks in cinemas, theatres, live music or entertainment venues, discos, open-air stadiums and sports halls.

In addition, it’s forbidden to consume food and drink in all these places, if indoors. So that means no soft drinks or popcorn for those going to watch a film at the cinema.

These higher grade masks will also have to be worn on board transport: on planes, trains, ferries, buses, trams, coaches and the metro.

The decision to reintroduce compulsory outdoor mask wearing everywhere, even in the lowest risk ‘white’ zones, came among a raft of new public health measures intended to stem the latest Covid wave fuelled by the Omicron variant.

Italy saw a record 44,595 coronavirus infections in 24 hours on Thursday, the highest daily number of infections seen in the country since the start of the pandemic.

Authorities have made plans for new restrictions on public gatherings: New Year’s celebrations are effectively forbidden in Italy as all mass gatherings, parties and events are banned until the end of January – even outdoors.

Many local authorities already chose to cancel Christmas and New Year’s Eve events in towns and cities across the country prior to the announcement.

Nightclubs and similar venues will also remain closed until January 31st.

The government also decided to reduce the validity of health certificates issued to those who have received vaccinations from nine months to six, starting from February 1st.

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Meanwhile, the reinforced or ‘super’ green pass proving vaccination or recovery will become a requirement in more venues, including museums.

People will be able to access booster jabs four months after their most recent dose, down from six months, with the new rule to be introduced at an unspecified future point.

Speranza did not state when the new decree would come into force, but said it would cover the period until January 31st – with several measures only in place until New Year’s Eve.

For further details about Italy’s current Covid-19 health measures please see the Italian Health Ministry’s website (available 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.”

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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