Italy is now allowing people from most EU nations and Britain to enter without having to spend two weeks in self-isolation. The country has been easing Covid-19-related restrictions in recent weeks.
The restrictions on Schengen Area and UK travelers have been eased from Wednesday, and will be lifted on those from other EU nations on June 15.
“Our goal is to show everyone that Italy is ready to welcome foreign tourists with safety and maximum transparency,” Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio wrote on social media.
Di Maio has already unveiled his first official meetings in this regard – he will hold talks with his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian in Rome, after which he will pay visits to Germany, Slovenia, and Greece.
The lockdown measures are being eased for Italians too. From Wednesday, citizens can both travel freely across the country and go abroad. Wearing a mask in a public places is no longer mandatory, except in the six northern regions, which were worst affected by coronavirus.
However, as railway travel resumes, temperature checks have been introduced aboard high-speed trains. Tourist sites had already begun reopening to visitors last month.
Italy was the hardest hit European nation during the early weeks of the Covid-19 pandemic. Its healthcare system was quickly overwhelmed, forcing the authorities to impose a nationwide lockdown, and to accept disease control teams from states such as Russia and China to help combat the spread of the virus.
As of Wednesday, Italy has had more than 233,500 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 33,530 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
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