Published: 18/01/2021 By The Abode Team
The Italian government has made some changes to its tiered system of coronavirus restrictions. Here's what you need to know.Under the new emergency decree announced on Friday, the country's exisiting restrictons have been extended - with a few changes. One change is to Italy's tiered system of varying restrictions in red, orange and yellow zones.
The new rules add an extra tier to the system: white, which is reserved for parts of the country where the coronavirus risk is lowest. These areas will be exempt from the restrictions in place in yellow, orange or red zones, including the 10pm curfew and 6pm closing time for bars and restaurants.
To qualify, regions must have fewer than 50 cases per 100,000 inhabitants for three weeks straight, as well as showing other positive indicators such as having an effective test and trace system. Health Minister Roberto Speranza explained 'white zone' regions would also need an Rt number under 1, and he stressed that those living in white zones would need to continue "respecting all social distancing measures".
However, none of Italy's 20 regions currently meet the criteria to be declared a white zone as yet. Under the latest health data; the region that comes closest is Tuscany, where the rate of incidence is still around three times higher than it would need to be.
Under the national tiered system, with rules changing based on the level of contagion risk, nine of Italy's 20 regions move up from "yellow" to "orange" zones, to make a total of 12 in that category. This means Italy's regions were classified as follows from Sunday January 17th:
Red zones: Lombardy, Sicily, Bolzano
Orange zones: Abruzzo, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Liguria, Marche, Piedmont, Puglia, Umbria and Valle D'Aosta, are turning yellow to orange, joining Calabria, Emilia-Romagna and Veneto, which are currently orange and will remain so.
Campania, Sardinia, Basilicata, Tuscany, Molise and the autonomous province of Trento will remain yellow zones.