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What changes from Monday in Italy’s Covid 'yellow' zones?

The Local Italy
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What changes from Monday in Italy’s Covid 'yellow' zones?
Restaurants in Rome are poised to reopen on Monday for outdoor table service. Photo: Alberto PIZZOLI/AFP

Some of Italy’s coronavirus restrictions are being eased from Monday in regions designated ‘yellow’ zones. Here’s a closer look at what changes and where.

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Restrictions change across most - but not all - of Italy as the government’s new ‘reopening’ decree comes into force on Monay April 26th.

Rule changes only apply to areas classed as lower-risk ‘yellow’ zones under the nation’s tiered system of restrictions 

The majority of Italy’s 20 regions and autonomous provinces turn yellow from Monday, after the latest health data released on Friday showed the coronavirus infection rate was falling in most of the country.

MAP: Which zone is your region in under Italy’s coronavirus restrictions?

Five regions remain under the moderate-risk ‘orange’ zone rules: Basilicata, Calabria, Puglia, Sicily and Valle d’Aosta.

The only region to stay in the highest-risk red zone is Sardinia.

All other regions are yellow, meaning certain restrictions are relaxed.

Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP

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What changes in yellow zones from Monday:

After weeks of being limited to takeaways and deliveries only, you’ll now be able to go out for a meal if you live in a yellow zone.

Restaurants, bars and ice-cream shops will be able to serve customers at both lunch and dinner - but only at outdoor tables, and businesses must close in time for the 10pm curfew.

All schools and universities will be able to resume in-person teaching in yellow and orange zones. 

Art galleries and museums are allowed to reopen. Cinemas and theatre shows will be allowed outdoors. Indoor showings can also go ahead, but will have their capacity limited to 50 percent. 

All shops can stay open in yellow zones. 

Outdoor sports will also be allowed.

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Restrictions on non-essential travel between regions in yellow zones have also been dropped.

However, the 10pm-5am curfew remains in place nationwide.

For residents of higher-risk red and orange zones, not much changes from Monday.

It will however be possible to travel to and from red and orange zone regions for non-essential reasons if using a new travel pass, the government announced.

Further gradual easing of the restrictions is scheduled over the next few weeks, as long as the overall health situation continues to improve.

Beach clubs and swimming pools can reopen in mid-May, while gyms must wait until June 1st under the government’s plan.

Find out where to get the latest information for your region of Italy here.

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Anonymous 2021/04/29 15:50
This was Sarah’s response (which she seemed in her shame to have erased): Shame on you for assuming anything, as usual, about me. I work in healthcare, oncology, and know quite well Virology. I'm not a sheep and neither are any of my medical colleagues. Curfews are people control measures, Italy already had >20%+ of their population is uber elderly, and many died of other causes. My own father-in-law was one of them. He was the 7th elderly patient picked up at our house nearby Milan and taken to the funeral home that morning 2 months ago. We called them at 8am! None of those patients/people died. This was a normal day for the funeral home. He died of dementia, and we watched like a HAWK to make sure he was not marked as that happens so much. Many cases of that here at our home in Florida too. Stop being a sheep. Here is my new response: Just like Trump’s Covid coordinator Alex Azar (who had nothing to do with virology), Sarah pretends to know something about virology because she works in "health care, oncology". The fact is that in Europe months ago, not so much now, many people died of "natural causes" of old age despite having all the symptoms of Covid. They were not even added to the Covid death tolls. An analysis (yes, facts!) by a major newspaper (yup, the main stream media!) compared deaths in 2019 for the 3 months from March 2019 with those same three months in 2020, a time in which Italy was in lockdown. The large rise in deaths, much undercounted by the government especially when one considers car accidents were non existent in those 3 months of 2020 due to the lockdown makes it reasonable to deduce that many of those extra deaths were due to the pandemic. Sorry, but you’ll have to take your ignorance somewhere else. Despite the high vaccination rate in the US, there were still close to 1000 people dying there...but go on and party all night without a mask! Hope there are no elderly antivaxxers nearby...
Anonymous 2021/04/27 13:16
I think plenty of people believe "in this stuff". Italians have been pretty good at distancing and keeping their masks on. Curfews are silly? Say that to those who lost loved ones while dinners went deep into the night. They also serve to contain the young party crowd from bringing home the virus to the nonni, many of whom got the virus that way. Shame on you for being so ignorant. Just talk to a doctor who has seen it all or pass by a Covid ward...
Anonymous 2021/04/26 14:04
Are museums open too in yellow zones now?

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