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COVID-19 RULES

Italy to keep quarantine rules in place as Covid cases rise

Italy will not scrap its mandatory Covid isolation period, the health minister has said, with the government split over whether to follow the ‘English model’ of managing the pandemic.

Italy to keep quarantine rules in place as Covid cases rise
Anyone who tests positive for Covid-19 in Italy must undergo at least one week of isolation. Photo by Marco Bertorello / AFP

The Italian health minister said he’s not considering scrapping the country’s existing Covid isolation requirements, following weeks of disagreement within government and among health experts over whether the rule should remain in place.

Health Minister Roberto Speranza said “no” when asked by Italian newspaper La Repubblica on Saturday if he’ll end the isolation requirement for positive cases.

“At the moment such a thing is not in question,” he added. “Anyone who is infected must stay at home.”

“There are 650,000 people in solitary confinement right now, and it is unimaginable to tell them they can move around.”

Though Italy has now scrapped almost all other Covid-related health measures – including all entry requirements for travellers – the country still requires anyone who tests positive while in the country to self-isolate for at least one week (see the bottom of the article for more details).

READ ALSO: How tourists and visitors can get a coronavirus test in Italy

Speranza, who is known for taking a cautious line when it comes to managing the pandemic, also decided in mid-June to the keep the requirement to wear masks on public transport in place throughout the summer.

The minister’s clarification came after weeks of debate over whether the isolation rule should also now be dropped or not, with the government reportedly split over the issue.

One of Speranza’s two deputy health ministers, Andrea Costa, has spoken out in favour of scrapping the rule, while the other, Pierpaolo Sileri, said the government should keep it in place.

Several prominent politicians within Italy’s broad coalition government, as well as health experts, have been calling for an end to all restrictions amid a debate over the adoption of a ‘modello inglese‘ or ‘English model’ of managing the pandemic: in England, isolation when infected is only a recommendation, not a requirement. 

Others, including epidemiologist Carlo La Vecchia, meanwhile suggested Italy move towards adopting a ‘Swiss model’: one week of isolation when positive, and no testing requirement at the end of that period.

But as the Covid infection and hospitalisation rates rise again – with the latest official health data showing a 60 percent rise in new infections in just seven days – Speranza doesn’t appear keen to try out either idea in Italy.

READ ALSO:  Why are so many Italians still wearing face masks in shops?

While Speranza told Repubblica “the challenge now is to focus on individual responsibility”, he said certain situations called for rules to remain in place.

“We mustn’t forget what we’ve been through,” he said.

“The most vulnerable must be protected. If they encounter the virus, their lives are still at risk. Their protection does not depend only on their own behavior, but on all of us … for example by putting on a mask in risky places.

“When circulation was very low, I said [the pandemic] was not over, and now I ask everyone once again to be cautious.”

Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP

What are Italy’s isolation rules?

In Italy and beyond, any type of Covid isolation period is commonly referred to as ‘quarantine’ (quarantena); though it should be noted that Italy’s health authorities define quarantine as an isolation period “carried out when a healthy person has been exposed to a Covid-19 case, with the aim of monitoring symptoms and providing for the early identification of cases”.

This is as opposed to isolation (isolamento), which is used “to separate people suffering from Covid-19 from healthy ones in order to prevent the spread of infection”.

The health ministry’s existing rules state that anyone who tests positive while in Italy is required to immediately self-isolate for a minimum of seven days – if they’re fully vaccinated or recently recovered from Covid.

Italy’s health ministry defines this as either being vaccinated and boosted (at any time – there’s no time limit or expiry period for those who’ve had a booster shot); or as having completed the primary vaccination cycle or recovered from Covid within the past 120 days (and being able to show certification proving this).

For anyone who is not classed as fully vaccinated or recently recovered, the isolation period is extended to 10 days.

In either case, the infected person must have been symptomless for at least three days in order to exit quarantine (with the exception of symptoms relating to a lost sense of taste or smell).

Reader question: How do Italy’s Covid quarantine rules work for travellers?

The patient must also test negative for the virus via either a molecular (PCR) or rapid antigen test on the final day of the quarantine in order to be allowed out.

Read more about getting tested while in Italy in a separate article here.

Quarantined people who keep testing positive for the virus can be kept in self-isolation for a maximum of 21 days, at which point they will be automatically released.

The prospect of potentially having to spend up to three weeks in isolation is obviously concerning for people visiting Italy on holiday this summer – with a number of The Local’s readers saying they wouldn’t be coming on holiday to Italy this summer if the rules remain in place.

As some countries require people travelling from Italy to test negative before their departure, visitors at the tail end of their journey could also be hit with the unpleasant surprise of finding out they need to quarantine for another week – or longer – in Italy instead of heading home as planned.

Italy does not currently require visitors from any country to test negative in order to enter the country, as long as they are fully boosted or were recently vaccinated/have recently recovered from Covid.

For more information about how Italy’s health regulations may apply to you, see the Italian health ministry’s website or consult the Italian embassy in your country.

Member comments

  1. The rule requiring passengers to wear masks on public transport is a bit of a joke. I have been using trains extensively for well over a month and find that a large percentage of the riders are disregarding this rule. What’s worse is the total disregard by conductors to enforce the law. I don’t know what function they perform on trains as they rarely bother to check anyone’s ticket.

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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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