Veneto, Emilia-Romagna and Friuli-Venezia Giulia will introduce new regional ordinances urging residents to avoid exercising or simply strolling on the streets of their town centres as part of efforts to avoid crowding and further transmission of the coronavirus.

The new rules, which will come into force from Saturday, November 14, will affect the major cities of Veneto, Bologna and Trieste.

The added restrictions are the equivalent of “yellow plus”, according to Veneto’s regional governor Luca Zaia.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, he announced that the local restrictions will include:

  • No exercising or strolling in city centres, crowded areas or beachfronts;
  • Bars and restaurants to become table service-only from 3 to 6pm; 
  • Weekly street markets are cancelled, unless they have a detailed safety plan in place;
  • Shopping centres and outlets to close on weekends and all shops to close on Sundays, except for those selling essential supplies like supermarkets or pharmacies;
  • Only one person per household will be allowed to enter a shop at a time, except for parents accompanying children or people who need assistance;
  • Supermarkets are advised to reserve their first two hours of opening for shoppers over 65; 
  • And, in schools, sports lessons, singing and playing wind instruments are suspended. 

Emilia-Romagna and Friuli-Venezia Giulia will apply similar restrictions during the same timeframe, their governors said

Campania, in the country’s south, may also face further restrictions.

Until the text of the new ordinances is published, it’s unclear whether unauthorised strolling in one of the three regions will earn you a fine or simply a reprimand.

“We don’t want to give fines, but shared rules that everyone respects,” the governor of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Massimiliano Fedriga, said.

Exercise is still allowed, so long as it’s socially distanced, but residents are urged to find an isolated area to go for a walk or run.

Meanwhile they can still access city centres for a valid reason, such as to go to work, go shopping or visit a restaurant.

The new restrictions come on top of baseline national regulations, including a 10:00 pm to 5:00 am curfew, the closure of high schools, museums, cinemas and theatres, reduced public transport capacity and the closure of restaurants and bars at 6:00 pm. 

Regions designated medium-risk “orange zones” or high-risk “red zones” have tougher limits in place, closing bars and restaurants to the public and banning travel between towns or outside the region.

The classification, which is based on a complex assessment of each region’s epidemiological situation and the capacity of its health system, has proven controversial, with some of the regions currently reporting thousands of new infections per day – including Campania and Lazio – remaining yellow while regions with lower numbers are classed red or orange zones.

The nation’s health ministry re-evaluates the classification every few days, and it’s rumoured that Veneto, Emilia-Romagna and Friuli-Venezia Giulia – as well as Campania – are being monitored closely.

The three regions’ joint ordinances are an effort to head off even tighter restrictions that could be ordered by the national government.

“It’s better to make a few sacrifices today than find ourselves a red zone tomorrow,” Zaia said.