Published: 22/04/2021 By The Abode Team
On Wednesday evening the Italian government approved the 'reopening' decree containing details of the country’s plan for easing coronavirus restrictions over the coming weeks and month, with the latest set of coronavirus regulations covering the period from April 26th until July 31st.The lower-risk ‘yellow’ zone classifications will return from this date, alongside the orange and red zones currently covering the whole country.
All schools and universities will be able to resume in-person teaching in yellow and orange zones.
Theatres, museums and cinemas will be allowed to reopen, while restaurants will be able to serve people at outdoor tables for both lunch and dinner. But restaurants that do not have outdoor space will have to wait until June 1st to serve customers at tables again, and then only at lunchtime.
The nationwide ban on travel between regions will also no longer apply in yellow zones.
Travel to and from areas which remain classed as higher-risk red and orange zones will be allowed using a new travel “pass”.
The nationwide evening curfew remains at 10pm, despite calls for it to be moved to 11pm to allow people more time to eat dinner at reopened restaurants. The easing of some restrictions will come as a relief to residents who have effectively been under a form of lockdown since mid-March.
However, concerns remain about the safety of reopening now amid a still-high infection rate and ongoing delays to the vaccine rollout in Italy. Some health experts warned on Monday that reopening too soon would risk triggering a new wave of infections that could put the summer tourist season in jeopardy.
Many restrictions are expected to remain in place for now in areas designated higher-risk red and orange zones, and rules will still depend on local health data. The government did not confirm any plans to relax the current restrictions on travel to Italy. The tourism minister last week suggested June 2nd as a possible date for restarting non-essential travel, though this has not yet been confirmed.