As part of a major expansion of its list of Covid-19 risk areas in Europe, the German government institute responsible for monitoring public health said that 11 of Italy's 20 regions and plus one province presented “an increased risk of infection”.

That classification means that people entering Germany from one of these parts of Italy must quarantine upon arrival, effective from Saturday October 24th.

The 'high-risk areas' are:

• Abruzzo
• Autonomous Province of Alto Adige (South Tyrol)
• Emilia-Romagna
• Friuli-Venezia Giulia
• Lazio
• Lombardy
• Piedmont
• Sardinia
• Tuscany
• Umbria
• Valle d'Aosta
• Veneto

The list includes several of Italy's most popular destinations for German holidaymakers, many of whom are thought to have booked autumn breaks before the rule change was announced.

Unless they fly home before Saturday, travellers returning to Germany from a high-risk area in Italy will have to get a test and go into quarantine while they await the results. That applies to anyone who has been to one of these areas in the past two weeks, even if they're not departing from there.

The German government is in the process of changing the rules to require everyone entering from a high-risk area to quarantine for a full 14 days, unless they test negative for coronavirus after no less than five days of isolation. Some German states have already begun applying the new, stricter rules.

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Germany has also added the whole of the UK, Ireland, Switzerland, Poland and Liechtenstein to its risk list, as well as most of Austria and parts of Bulgaria, Estonia, Croatia, Sweden, Slovenia and Hungary.

Read more on The Local Germany.

Italy currently has no travel restrictions on Germany, meaning that travellers are free to cross from Germany into Italy without requiring a test or quarantine.

Some of Italy's neighbours have put it on their risk lists, however, including the UK (which requires travellers from Italy to quarantine upon arrival) and Switzerland, which has designated the regions of Campania, Sardinia and Veneto as risk zones.