As coronavirus infection rates continue to fall, the Italian government’s Scientific Technical Committee (CTS) on Monday reviewed the current requirement to wear masks at all times when outdoors in public.
Italy has required face masks to be worn outdoors as well as indoors since October 2020, and as temperatures soar across the country many people will be relieved to hear that these rules will soon be relaxed – at least somewhat.
The review comes as Italy allowed more regions to drop most coronavirus restrictions on Monday, after health data showed the infection rate was still falling nationwide.
At the moment, the Italian rules state that masks must be worn at all times when out of the house, indoors and outdoors, “except in cases where, due to the characteristics of the place or the circumstances, isolation is continuously guaranteed”.
Though all regions except the Aosta Valley are already low-risk “white zones”, the mask-wearing rule is among the few restrictions which remain in place under this tier.
Amid concern about new variants, Italy on Monday extended a ban on travel from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and brought in a five-day quarantine requirement for arrivals from the UK.
Italy’s health authorities will also increase the number of tests being sequenced from this week in order to help identify potential outbreaks, news agency ANSA reported.
Italy recorded 21 deaths and 495 new cases of the virus nationwide on Monday.
Italy had fully vaccinated almost 30 per cent of the population over 12 years old as of Monday, official figures show.
In total, more than 46 million vaccine doses have been administered in Italy, though health authorities warn that one dose may not offer sufficient protection from Delta and other variants.
