The new rules were approved under the latest emergency decree, which comes into force on Friday December 4.
They include a ban on travel between regions over the holidays – and between towns on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day – the forced closure of ski resorts and mandatory quarantining for anyone arriving in Italy from countries beyond the EU.
“The measures we’re adopting are adequate and proportional to the level of risk, without unnecessary penalisation,” Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said in a press conference on Thursday night.
“We have avoided a generalised lockdown but now, near Christmas, we must not let our guard down.”
Cruises are banned from departing from or stopping in Italian ports over the holidays, and Italy’s ski resorts are closed until January 6.
Hotels can remain open, but they must close their restaurants on New Year’s Eve and serve dinner by room service only.
Restaurants will remain closed in higher-risk red and orange zones, while they can stay open for lunch in yellow areas, including on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve and Epiphany.
Shops will be allowed to stay open until 9:00 pm, but shopping centres will remain closed at weekends and on holidays.
High schools across the country can also reopen from January 7.
As expected, the new decree contains a “strong recommendation” against inviting people over for celebrations at home, though Conte confirmed this would not become legislation.
Many existing measures introduced in early November remain in place, including the nationwide 10:00 pm to 5:00 am curfew and the three-tiered lockdown system.
Midnight mass on Christmas Eve will have to be brought forward so that worshippers can make it home before the curfew.
The Italian government approved the new measures as it seeks to avoid a third wave of coronavirus infections as a result of festive gatherings.
“There is still a long way to go until we’re out of the pandemic,” Conte said.
“We must avert a third wave, which could arrive as early as January and be no less violent than the first wave.
“Caution is essential to protect our loved ones,especially the elderly.”
The emergency decree announcement came just a few hours after health authorities announced that Italy had recorded its highest-ever daily death toll from the virus, with 993 fatalities in the previous 24 hours.
The death toll has been high in recent weeks, despite a downward trend in infection rates in many parts of the country.
The official tally on Thursday surpassed the previous grim record of 969 deaths, set on March 27, when Italy was under a strict nationwide lockdown after becoming the first European country to be hit by the global pandemic.
The total death toll in Italy now stands at 58,038.
