As part of Italy's plan to phase out covid restrictions by summer, the government has significantly relaxed some rules for May. As Italian media cited a government decree, from May 1, local citizens and foreign tourists will no longer be required to present a Green Health Pass COVID-19 at the entrance to places such as museums, pubs, hotels and other public locations.
This means that from May 1, no health passes are required to use local public transport services, dine in outdoor restaurants, and check into hotels. Next, in June, the authorities are set to completely lift most of their sanitary measures in line with the government's goal of starting to pave the way for pre-coronavirus life.
This step was taken despite the high number of covid cases identified in the country. However, as officials noted, green passes will remain mandatory in social security housing until the end of this year.
“As of May 1, 2022, COVID-19 green certification is no longer required for public spaces. However, it remains mandatory when visiting inpatient departments of hospitals and nursing homes,” the department noted.
Requirements for tourists when entering Italy
Although there is no direct air connection between Russia and Italy, our tourists get to the European country bypassing it. Therefore, they should be aware of some changes in the Italian authorities. So, sanitary measures are still in effect at the border. To be specified, on April 28, the Ministry of Health decided to extend the entry measures, i.e. The requirement will remain in effect for at least another month. According to the rules, in order to enter Italy, Russian and other travelers need a vaccination certificate with a note about vaccination against coronavirus, recovery from it, or a negative test for covid.
The extension of existing entry measures follows a recommendation from Italy's Directorate-General for Disease Prevention, which noted that the measures are still necessary “given the epidemiological situation in some EU and non-EU countries where the incidence rate remains high.”
However, from May 1, the obligation to fill out the passenger search form was abolished for tourists.
Those who intend to enter on the basis of a vaccination certificate must ensure that their second component of the vaccination was received no earlier than 270 days, or that they were revaccinated on time.
What vaccines are taken Italian side?
There are no Russian manufacturers among them, approved by EMA. Italy approved the following vaccines:
- Comirnaty di Pfizer-BioNTech
- Janssen (Johnson & Johnson)
- Modern
- Nuvaxovid (Novavax)
- Vaxzevria
- Vaccines recognized as equivalent under Italian law (Covishield, Fiocruz, R-Covi)
Travelers traveling to Italy without valid vaccination certificates may enter with either a certificate of recovery or a recent negative Covid test. The certificate of recovery must contain confirmation from a certified health care provider that the holder has been ill with coronavirus within the last six months.
Both rapid antigen tests and PCR/molecular tests are also valid for entry into Italy on Covid. PCR tests must be submitted 72 hours before arrival in Italy, and rapid tests 48 hours before arrival. Documents are accepted in Italian, English, French, Spanish or German.
Tourists who do not present any of these medical documents are also allowed to enter Italy, but they will have to self-isolate for five days upon arrival and get a negative result for covid on the fifth day to get out of isolation.
Earlier, Turprom wrote that since May 2, “Russian tourists have been lifted restrictions on entry to a popular European country.”
For those who care about a healthy lifestyle, we recommend reading: “Russians have been warned what regular hot baths can lead to.”