Italy Becomes Mask-Free And ‘Low Risk’ From Today

Italy Becomes Mask-Free And ‘Low Risk’ From Today.

Italians across the country are rejoicing today, Monday, June 28, as they will be able to enjoy outdoor life mask free at least.

All of Italy becomes a mask-free, “low-risk” zone today, marking a dramatic milestone for the first European country to be hit by the global pandemic in February 2020.

In a decree that now takes effect, the health ministry for the first time classified each of Italy’s 20 regions as “white”, signifying low risk, under the country’s colour-coded classification system that evaluates Covid-19 risk.

That means face masks will no longer be compulsory in outdoor areas, which is welcome news across the country where an ongoing heatwave is expected to push temperatures past 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in some southern areas this week.

Once a symbol of the coronavirus crisis in the West – where images of army trucks transporting coffins from the overflowing morgue in the northern city of Bergamo were seen around the world – Italy has seen Covid-19 infections and deaths plummet in recent weeks.

A third of Italy’s population over the age of 12 has been vaccinated as of Sunday, June 27, or 17,572,505 people, according to the government.

The last region still classed as a ‘yellow’ zone, Valle d’Aosta, will join the rest of the country in the low-risk ‘white’ tier, meaning most rules can be relaxed.

“With the decree I just signed, all of Italy will be ‘white’ starting from Monday. It is an encouraging result, but we still need caution and prudence,” Speranza
wrote on Facebook.

Referring to the spread of more transmissible variants of the coronavirus, the minister added: “the battle has not yet been won.”

Long prohibited from entering the country, tourists from the European Union, Britain, the United States, Canada and Japan are now back after the government removed a quarantine requirement for vaccinated visitors or those who test negative.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article, please remember to come back and check The Euro Weekly News website for all your up-to-date local and international news stories.